Fast facts

Project: Safe as houses - a crime safety education, prevention and community connection campaign

Organisation: Attwood House Community Centre

Grant fund: Community Safety Fund

Grant amount: $8,949 (plus organisation contribution of $4,061)

The Safe as houses campaign was created to provide residents of Attwood, Westmeadows, Gladstone Park, Greenvale and Tullamarine with access to crime prevention information, improve connections amongst the community and improve perceptions of safety.

Attwood House Community Centre designed the initiative after calls from the community for a locally relevant crime prevention information session. Attwood House identified there was a need for better access to crime prevention information in the area, as well as accurate advice about local crime rates to help improve perceptions of crime and safety.

Safe as houses was a multi-faceted campaign focused on:

  • residential burglary
  • theft of and from motor vehicles
  • theft of personal property in public places.

The campaign utilised a number of communication channels. This included sessions presented by a local crime prevention officer from Victoria Police, fridge magnets, flyers and social media. Details of actual crime rates were provided, as well as tips for residents to protect themselves from theft and burglary.

The information sessions were advertised in the Hume Leader Newspaper, on posters placed in shop windows, on community noticeboards and through social media. Seven sessions were delivered over the campaign period, and fridge magnets and flyers were distributed to 13,500 households in the area.

Achievements

The Safe as houses campaign significantly increased access to locally relevant crime prevention information to approximately 39,000 residents across five suburbs in the City of Hume.

Surveys completed by the attendees indicated the following:

  • there was strong community support for the campaign
  • sessions would be recommended to others in the community
  • more than 90 per cent of respondents indicated they would attend a session in future.

Attwood House Community Centre continues to be a crime prevention information resource hub for the community.

If you would like a copy of this campaign material, or to be put in touch with Attwood House Community Centre to help inform your own community safety education and awareness project, please contact communitycrimeprevention@justice.vic.gov.au (External link)