What does a Neighbourhood Support Group do? Neighbourhood Support Rotorua covers over 39 percent of the occupied households in the area. In the covered locations less than 20 percent of residential crime occurs. So how does a Neighbourhood Support Group work? When an area wishes to have Neighbourhood Support established, following a meeting of interestedhouseholds, a group is set up with a person appointed as the group contact person. This person acts as the point of contact between the group and the office distributing information to the group and keeping contact information up to date.
The group will: • Encourage neighbours to talk to each other • Share information that will help reduce the risk of crime • Help foster a sense of community spirit • Educate and empower neighbours to take responsibility for their own safety • Identify the needs of neighbours and ways to assist each other such as the elderly, infirm and those living alone • Decide ways to handle any civil emergency that may occur.
Neighbourhood Support encourages groups to undertake these objectives so as to reduce the incidence of crime in their area and to build community spirit. When the contact person gathers household information from the members, the office assembles a telephone contact list to distribute to registered households in the group. The lists should be kept up to date as possible with at least an annual update. Neighbours look after each other. Members of a group can keep an eye on a property when they go away so long as the group is advised. A group is able to establish a sense of ‘being an entity’ by having streets signs mounted in the street and all registered households having a Neighbourhood Support sticker on their property, visible from the road on a window/letterbox/door. These provide a visible warning to those coming into the area that the neighbours do look out for each other and will report suspicious activity to the Police. Groups can undertake social activities, but it is dependent upon what the group wants. Some have a regular get-together over a pot luck meal or barbeque. Others meet only annually. The main idea behind these gatherings is to get to know your neighbours. Members of the group welcome newcomers to the street, introducing them to their new neighbours. Page 19
