Forest Lake residents engage with Police

By Senior Constable Vernon Wootton, myPolice Centenary
Original article HERE

On Saturday December 15, Inala Police hosted a Coffee with a Cop event at Forest Lake and were supported by Police and Volunteers in Policing from Centenary Crime Prevention Unit, as well as Police Recruits from the Oxley Police Service Academy.

A focus of the event was Operation Wake Up which is a South Brisbane Police District targeted approach to reducing fatal and serious crashes through proactive traffic enforcement and community engagement and education.

Running from 8am until midday, the event saw about 140 people drop in to talk with police, many of them taking the opportunity to have a Coffee with a Cop at local coffee shop Simple Bliss as they chatted.

Besides road safety information and advice, police were able to assist residents regarding home and property security and personal safety. Number plate theft is a serious concern to police and the use of these one way screws significantly reduces the likelihood that vehicle number plates will be stolen and used for illegal purposes, not to mention the cost and inconvenience to a vehicle’s owner.

Police volunteers and Recruits fitted anti-theft number plate screws to over 50 local vehicles while many community members took the opportunity to register their emails so they can receive updates, including the Inala Crime Wrap which provides information about home and vehicle break and enters and other community news and events.

The help provided by the Police Recruits was extremely valuable and greatly appreciated.

The recruits toiled all morning and said that they enjoyed the opportunity to engage with members of the public during the event. Engaging with the community at events like this is an important part of policing.

If you weren’t able to make it but would like to have anti-theft number plate screws fitted or to register for the NHWQ or myPolice blogs, please contact Centenary Crime Prevention Unit at 3131 7381 or 3131 7355 or by email to Infolink@police.qld.gov.au.

Inala Police and Centenary Crime Prevention Unit wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year.

Wake Up to Road Safety in South Brisbane this Christmas.