Neighbourhood Watch Month

Crime prevention partners Crimsafe and Neighbourhood Watch Australasia (NHWA) join forces again this month in a collaborative campaign to encourage Australians to strengthen their home security measures and build safer, secure and more crime-resistant neighbourhoods.

Neighbourhood Watch Month

‘Neighbourhood Watch Month’ will run throughout March and put the spotlight on adequate home security, provide tips and tricks to improve security and encourage people to become involved in their local Neighbourhood Watch community.

Recent statistics from Secure Score reveal that 64% of respondents do not have security cameras on their property, while 55% don’t have security screens that exceed Australian Standards. At the same time, only 57% indicated that they had sensor lighting around external doors and windows. Overall, Australia’s average Secure Score is only 56 out of 100 – suggesting that many homes across the country are susceptible to break-ins, theft or damage.

Since it was developed and launched by the crime prevention partners in September 2021, Secure Score has had an impressive response from homeowners across the country eager to assess their home security and obtain their secure score.

Insights from the Secure Score data highlight some simple and effective actions homeowners can take to improve their home security. For example, adding a sensor light, trimming hedges near windows and leaving shoes at the front door are simple and effective ways to improve your Secure Score.

Secure Score

Secure Score is a free, online home security audit tool that rates the effectiveness of a householders’ overall home security. Secure Score prompts homeowners to answer a few questions about their current home security measures before providing a score out of 100. Based on the answers given, homeowners are provided with a tailored action plan to help improve their Secure Score and the overall security of their home and property.

Just as important as how secure your home is, is how safe you feel in your home. A feeling that can be vastly improved by becoming involved in your local Neighbourhood Watch community group. Despite this, Secure Score data reveals that 87% of respondents are not a part of an active Neighbourhood Watch group in their local area.

Neighbourhood Watch Australasia

Neighbourhood Watch Australasia is the representative organisation that leads, facilitates and supports the Neighbourhood Watch communities all over Australia to build safe and confident neighbourhoods, reduce the fear of crime and increase a sense of safety in the community. The month-long campaign will also encourage homeowners to use the NHWA website to find and get involved with their local Neighbourhood Watch group.