The success of Project Eyewatch in Narromine and other areas has led to the Lachlan (Parkes), Canobolas (Orange), Chifley (Bathurst) and Mudgee Local Area Commands becoming the latest NSW Police precincts to join a ground-breaking policing strategy that involves direct engagement with the community.
Project Eyewatch is a world-first program that uses social media to bring the 30-year-old Neighbourhood Watch program into the 21st century, while driving down crime in the process.
NSW Project Manager Chief Inspector Josh Maxwell, said the program, which operates online through Facebook, was devised in acknowledgement that while people still cared about their community, they no longer had time to attend regular meetings in a community hall.
Since its launch on August 5 last year by NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, and the Minister for Police Michael Gallacher, 68 of 80 local area commands have been trained, with more than 56,000 members generating more than 13 million hits in just six months.
Eyewatch is a live site through which information is continuously fed, such as incidents of crime, appeals for assistance, crime-prevention tips, weather warnings and traffic information.
Emergency management forms a vital part of the brief, as demonstrated during the floods in north-west NSW and the mid-north coast of NSW during the past week, and the Blue Mountains bushfires last October.
In these situations, information updates are provided to the public as they come to hand.
“With the Blue Mountains fires, the Rural Fire Service published on their Facebook page where the fires were and where it was predicted the fire movement was headed, and then shared that information with the police page,” Chief Insp Maxwell said.
“Police published evacuation areas, road closures and mountain track closures. Through a multi-agency approach, they were able to get their message out to the Blue Mountains community very quickly.”
One of the most notable successes to date occurred following a violent home invasion near Deniliquin on January 17 2012, when a woman was allegedly stabbed in the neck.
Two days later, the profiles of two suspects were uploaded on to the Victorian Facebook page, and within two hours they were identified by Facebook members on their iPhones at a motel in Swan Hill and the arrests were made.
“That’s the power of getting information out quickly. From a crime-detection perspective, in terms of persons of interest, vehicles of interest, we’ve had significant success,” Chief Insp Maxwell said.
In turn, communities are encouraged to post information about events and concerns in their area, which helps police develop strategies to address these problems.
“It’s helping us listen to the community to better understand their needs, address their concerns and, most importantly, tap into vital information that allows us to solve and prevent crime,” Chief Insp Maxwell said.
This aim is advanced with the ability for Neighbourhood Watch groups to come on-line and talk to police in a closed-group environment.
“We now have 66 Neighbourhood Watch groups who have joined us on line across 30 commands. Some of these groups are up to 500 strong,” Chief Insp Maxwell said.
Since the program’s launch, a myriad of offenders have been identified through publishing CCTV; offenders have been arrested for theft, robbery, warrants, graffiti, other malicious damage offences.
“We’re now gaining significant information and intelligence about social problems across our commands,” Chief Insp Maxwell said.
How to join Narromine’s Eyewatch on Facebook;
1. Send an email to 40046@police.nsw.gov.au with the following info;
2. Full name;
3. Date of birth
4. Address;
5. Drivers Licence number;
6. Facebook profile name
Send a “request to join group” to Narromine Eyewatch and we will accept/reject based on the result of the background check.
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