The head of Victoria’s Neighbourhood Watch has said the policing network needs to do more to engage with a younger age demographic.
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When asked about declining membership rates in the North East, Neighbourhood Watch acting chief executive Geoff Kloot told The Border Mail a different model should be considered.
“I think we’re kidding ourselves if we expect younger people to sit in a meeting once a month, because it’s just not their scene,” he said. “But if we can involve them so they can keep their eyes peeled it’s the same message - we’ve just got to convey it in a different form.”
Despite attendance at Rutherglen’s Neighbourhood Watch meetings dropping, Mr Kloot claimed the group was making somewhat of a comeback.
“We’ve got about 6700 volunteers throughout the state now and we’ve got something over 50,000 followers on Facebook,” he said. “So there’s a lot of interest from people who want to support their local group and enlarge it.”
But Mr Kloot conceded the traditional setup of Neighbourhood Watch centred on monthly meetings and distributing a hard copy newsletter may not be the way forward.
“I’ll put my cards on the table,” he said. “We are getting a few younger people but they aren’t interested in a Neighbourhood Watch run they way we used to do it. That’s why we have to approach the issue differently to find out a way that interests them.”
Agreeing with Neil Michael from Rutherglen, Mr Kloot said Victoria Police still strongly supported the continuation of Neighbourhood Watch.
“The Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Graham Ashton, is our patron,” he said. “He’s been our patron for a few years, but he’s only more recently become a chief commissioner. And he is a very strong supporter of Neighbourhood Watch. We’re getting a lot of support from police at all levels in regional centres.”
Mr Kloot said this relationship was important because at the heart of Neighbourhood Watch was crime prevention.
“We have to have a solid relationship with the police and from time to time there has been less interest than we would like from some local police groups,” he said. “But I think now the message is getting out loud and clear that we’re partners in this business and so it’s encouraging.”
Mr Kloot said the Victorian state government awarded Neighbourhood Watch a grant of $550,000 in 2011 for five years. But this was reduced to $150,000 in December last year to last three years, according to Mr Kloot.
“It means we have to slightly curtail our activities and staff in the head office,” he said.