WARNING

There have been a series of incidents here in Helensvale recently which call for a new watchfulness by householders. There have been several break-ins to people's homes WHILST THEY WERE IN WATCHING TELEVISION! The thieves have removed bug-screens to open windows and climbed through very small gaps into bedrooms and rifled through cupboards and drawers, scooping up valuables then dashing out before the householder knew they were even in the house. It is thought that one of them kept watch through a gap in the curtains to make sure the householders were sitting down or occupied, perhaps warning the person or persons doing the robbery if the householders got up to investigate noise, or walked towards the bedroom.

The burglars must be small, perhaps young teenagers or children, and seem to have no fear. So far they have not been disturbed during their activities.

If you think you hear someone in your house, ring 000 immediately and do not confront them. If you discover the burglary only when you go to bed, ring the non-emergency number, 5581 2999 (if it is after 4pm) and you will be visited, but this may take time, so be patient, as priority has to be given to incidents in progress. The police are very helpful but you can help them do their job more efficiently if you have a photograph of your jewellery or valuables (do this BEFORE you are robbed) for insurance and identity purposes. If you haven't got a digital camera, contact me on 5580 1264 and NHW can photo your property and give you a print-out to keep, free of charge.

Keep your home safe by making sure your windows only open about 10cm. Putting pieces of dowling or sticks into the sliding window tracks is a very good and inexpensive prevention against anyone getting in quietly. If you can put your head in the gap, someone can get through it! Make sure you draw your curtains fully, or blinds, so that someone outside can't see into your lounge-room. They might not chance breaking in if they don't know where you are in the house. A security alarm won't help in this situation because you are in the house, and won't have it armed. Make sure you lock all doors when in or out, and front doors if in the back yard.

Also take care when strangers knock on your door, day or night. They might be trying to find out if the house is occupied, or they might be keeping you talking whilst a second person nips round the back to try their luck with any open doors, and get in to steal. Be specially careful if two people call and ask for access to taps, pipes or electrical supply equipment. One will keep you talking whilst the other picks up whatever he or she finds in the house and can pocket without suspicion. Sometimes, they will carry false ID and pretend to be from an official organisation. A genuine caller will not mind if you phone to check that the company has really sent him or her, and a bogus caller will probably be scared off. Play safe and don't let anyone inside the house you are not happy about, and try to memorise details about them.

Lastly, if you are conned by a criminal, it is NEVER YOUR FAULT. These tricksters prey on the fact that most of us are truthful and believe what we are told. It is PERFECTLY REASONABLE to believe that we have been told the truth. Societies work on trust. If this is destroyed, then great harm is done to all of us, so put the blame where it belongs!

Margaret McDermott, Coordinator.

Last Meeting of the Year

The meeting on Thursday, 29th October, in the Community Centre North Hall in Helensvale was the last for this year. Clr John Wayne and our Police Liason Officer Constable Sam Walsh were present to answer questions, and our guest speaker Brian Arnold from Electralarm Australia Pty Ltd., gave us some valuable information about domestic security systems.

We had a fair turnout, but we need more attendees to make it worthwhile for our lovely speakers who give up valuable family time to come to our meetings to answer questions. They do this for all the many small NHW groups around Helensvale, and Division 2, and are giving their time free of charge for the community. If you care about keeping our beautiful suburb safe, come along to our next meeting, the AGM, on 25th February. You can become a committee-member, a block or zone coordinator if you wish - just present yourself on the day.

Committtee-members are voted in each year : the posts up for election are Coordinator, Secretary and Treasurer. If you think you can do a good job in any of these offices, put yourselves forward.

Zone coordinators are responsible for a sub-division of our area, usually about 120 households. They organise the delivery of the newsletter, quarterly, by liasing with the block coordinators who deliver to particular streets. Zone and block co-ordinators are expected to attend two meetings per quarter, one informal gathering to collect newsletters, the other, the main meeting. Zone and block coordinators can chat with residents about NHW when they deliver the newsletters, if the opportunity arises. This does't amount to a lot of time, but we really need your presence at the meetings. Because these positions carry responsibilities, all officers have to undergo a Police check, but it usually only takes a few days for clearance to come through.

We particularly need block coordinators in Lindfield Road and Doyalson Place because we will shortly have residents in the 68 new apartments, so numbers in our area will soon total 800. If any Central residents are reading this, welcome to the area, and welcome to NHW! You are members by virtue of living in Helensvale Area 2, so we would love to see you at our next meeting.

Meanwhile, have a very Happy Christmas and New Year holiday until we see you on 25th February!

Margaret McDermott,

Coordinator