Neighbourhood watch scheme

Neighbourhood Watch Scheme The British Honorary Consulate in Fethiye 24.07.2013

The British Honorary Consulate in Fethiye are working together with the British community and local police and officials to make the area a no go zone for burglars.

Concerned at the number of house break-ins during recent weeks, a group of British residents have taken the initiative to form a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme which aims to cover all the main residential areas of the town and its suburbs.

Representatives from the British Consulate General in Istanbul and British Honorary Consulate in Fethiye attended the first meeting of the group, held in Calis on 4th July 2013.

Ahmet Dorduncu, the Pro Consul for Fethiye and Joanne Pietsch, Consular Network Co-ordinator for Turkey, spoke to the group about the work they had done already with the local authorities on this subject and the way forward for the initiative in terms of Consular involvement.

Attendees of the meeting were also given comprehensive advice on crime prevention and security by retired policeman and local British resident, Kevin Mulligan.

Following on from talks between our Pro Consul and Fethiye Chief of police,Mr Huseyin Kocabiyik, a meeting of local officials and representatives was held on 15th July 2013 to discuss the next steps and to see how all parties could work together to reduce this type of crime in the area.

Also at this meeting were the Director of Public Security, the Director of Turkish Culture and Tourism Office in Fethiye, the Director of FETAV (Fethiye Tourism, Promotion, Education, Culture and Environment Foundation), Jane Akatay, Freelance Journalist and the representative of Land of Lights (local English newspaper) and Fethiye Times (local English online newspaper) and Pauline Elliot, the representative and co-ordinator of Fethiye Neighbourhood Watch Group.

The chief of police is very interested in engaging with the scheme and has offered to assign an English speaking police officer as an emergency contact for the Neighbourhood Watch Group. The police department are also printing and distributing their own leaflets, in English, to the community (these are already available in Turkish).

The leaflets contain useful information on how to stay safe and what precautions can be taken to prevent a crime and burglary.

The Neighbourhood Watch Group will be holding further meetings to promote and action their work and the British Honorary Consulate Fethiye remains involved to facilitate and assist where possible this important collaboration of local residents and officials working towards a common aim .