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Latrobe Crime Watch News Special Edition February 2012.Gippsland Arson Prevention Program Information Displays, Hot Spots - Gippsland Needs The Public's Help, Report Suspicious Arson Activity In The Bush, Gippsland Arson Prevention Program (GAPP) By Malcolm Lawrence - 6th February 2012 - Back to News Latrobe Crime Watch News
Latrobe Police Service Area
Neighbourhood Watch Creating Safer Communities
Special Edition February 2012
IMPORTANT
NUMBERS
Emergency 000, Mobiles 112, State the service you want – Police, Ambulance or Fire.
Police: Boolarra 5169 6222, Churchill 5122 1790, Moe 5127 2222, Morwell 5131 5000
Traralgon 5174 0900
Crime Stoppers
1800 333 000
Neighbourhood Watch & Safer Communities
Unit – Latrobe PSA, L/S/C Brett Godden, 5131 5085, 0400 050 749.
brett.godden@police.vic.gov.au
Facebook: Senior Constable Brett
Child Protection 13 12 78, Consumer Affairs 5116 5701, Dept Primary Industry 136186.
Dispute Settlement Centre 1800 658 528, Latrobe City 1300 367 700.
Nurse on Call 1300 606 024, Poisons Information 13 11 26,
VicRoads 131170
COMING EVENTS:
GIPPSLAND ARSON PREVENTION PROGRAM INFORMATION DISPLAYS
Over six Saturdays commencing on 18th February to 31st March the GAPP partnership will be conducting information displays at major Latrobe and Baw Baw shopping centres. Two 2 hour displays will be conducted each Saturday from 9 am to 11 am in the first town and will then relocate to the second town from 1 pm to 3 pm. Stakeholder representatives will answer the public’s questions and distribute information on bushfire patrols, prevention and management, arsonist detection and reporting suspicious activity. Emergency Vehicles will be present for the young and the young at heart to view up close. For locations check your local newspapers closer to dates and look for displays at your local shopping centre.
Gippsland Arson Prevention Program
HOT SPOTS – GIPPSLAND NEEDS THE PUBLIC’S HELP
REPORT SUSPICIOUS ARSON ACTIVITY IN THE BUSH
GIPPSLAND ARSON PREVENTION PROGRAM (GAPP)
In all December issues of the Division’s Crime Watch Newsletters we drew the attention of our communities to Victoria Police’s Operation Firesetter. This operation is the State’s Bushfire Arson Prevention Campaign and announced highly visible police patrols to prevent arson and apprehend arsonists during periods of high fire danger. It also investigates bushfire arson persons of interest.
Operation Firesetter was instigated by Victoria Police at the commencement of the fire season and the work is now augmented by the Gippsland Arson Prevention Program (GAPP). Currently conditions are drying out and we are heading into a period of high fire risk. Any act of arson has the potential to not only damage or destroy property and the environment but also threaten lives.
GAPP was formed as a result of the devastating 2009 Gippsland bushfires. Emergency management agencies and industries from across Gippsland joined together to target and reduce the incidence of arson. Joining Victoria Police and the CFA in partnership to combat arson are organisations and businesses including HVP Plantations, Loy Yang Power, Tru Energy, Gippsland Water, local government and agencies such as Latrobe City, Baw Baw and South Gippsland Shires, the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and Monash University's Sustainability Institute.
It is not just police who are currently patrolling areas which may be targeted by arsonists. Employees from all partner agencies are on the lookout for suspicious behaviour in our bush. This increases the number of fire patrol units on the ground. All patrol units have the capacity to immediately contact police and CFA should the need arise.
Together, these organisations aim to reduce the incidence and impact of bushfire arson across Gippsland. Protocols have been developed to ensure a coordinated approach to field patrols, engagement with the media and educating the community. There is open communication and information sharing amongst all members of the partnership.
But it is not just the authorities and industry which have a role to play in preventing a repeat of the 2009 bushfires. All members of the community have a part to play to ensure the community’s collective safety during the fire season. Individuals must stand up and be counted.
Victoria Police’s Operations Support Tasking and Coordination Inspector, Ron Gardner, from Eastern Region’s Division 5 Morwell Police Headquarters said, "Deliberately lit fires cause devastation to both life and property. The GAPP program is industries’ and agencies’ tangible effort to protect the community. Now all we need is for the community as a whole to get on board."
Whether you live or work in, or simply travel through bushfire prone areas, be alert to the possibility you might see something or know someone who may be planning to deliberately or recklessly light a bushfire.
Arsonists often do not travel far from home. If an arsonist is a local then it stands to reason that some members of the local community may have suspicions about the arsonist. It is the locals who see and hear things at a grass root level and where arson is concerned, locals need to be the eyes and ears of the community.
In recognising that people who commit bushfire arson often live and work in local communities, as a responsible member of the community you are encouraged to record descriptions of both persons and vehicles you believe are behaving in a suspicious manner in areas likely to be targeted by arsonists.
The GAPP partnership will be conducting information displays at major Latrobe and Baw Baw shopping centres from mid-February to March. Representatives from the stakeholders will be on hand to answer the public’s questions and to distribute information. Emergency Vehicles will be present for the young and the young at heart to view up close.
When commenting on HPV’s involvement in the displays Greg Flynn, HVP Plantation’s Fire Protection Manager, said, "Arson is a problem that affects the whole community so we all need to be involved in reducing its impact".
The display will include representatives from:
Victoria Police – Identifying suspicious activity and behaviours and Arson Investigation information;
Country Fire Authority (CFA) – Bushfire Safety Advice for the property owner;
Department of Sustainability and Environment – Proactive planning and management of bushfire zones;
Hancock Victorian Plantations (HVP) - Major Industry partner - registered as CFA Forest Industry Brigades (FIB).
Neighbourhood Watch – Role of the individual in collecting information to assist police
Police urge anyone who observes something that piques your curiosity and gives you the feeling that this is not quite right to fill in the GAPP Suspicious Incident Report.
You may not feel the need to report the incident immediately to police, but in the event it becomes a series of incidents the information you record may help prevent or solve a crime. Small bits of information when collated can lead to the building of a significant profile about persons and vehicles of interest and arson related activities.
Place the blank GAPP Suspicious Incident Report on your refrigerator or put it in an easy to get to spot. Notes made immediately after an incident has occurred are more accurate than if you try to remember or recreate the incident hours or days later. They are also given more credence by the courts in the event an offender is arrested, charged and prosecuted.
Copies of GAPP Suspicious Incident Report may be downloaded at the Neighbourhood Watch Victoria Website at http://www.nhw.com.au/Eastern-Region/Latrobe/Crime-Watch-Newsletters
Police urge anyone who may have information related to arson activities to contact Crime Stoppers on: 1800 333 000 or visit: www.crimestoppers.com.au or ring 000 if the threat is immediate.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: malcolml@dcsi.net.au
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