By Deanne Jeffers
SAFETY in the community is a team effort, which is perhaps best known and supported by volunteers at Neighbourhood Watch Greater Shepparton. The group’s president, Cathie McMaster, recently received Neighbourhood Watch’s Awards of Honour 2024, highlighting her decades of tireless service to crime prevention in Greater Shepparton.
Cathie joined Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) in 2001 when she retired from teaching. At the time, there were around 12 NHW groups in the region, which amalgamated into NHW Greater Shepparton. The service organisation is perhaps best known locally for its safe plate days, where volunteers install anti-theft screens into car registration plates to deter thieves.
NHW Greater Shepparton also assists local police officers in crime prevention efforts and community engagement, mainly distributing information about local crime and initiatives that make our communities safer, such as the CoolHeads young driver program and keeping school grounds free from crime during school holidays by engaging neighbours.
“Neighbourhood Watch is about safety and crime prevention in the community,” Cathie said. “It is about personal safety first and foremost because if you can’t keep yourself safe, how can you keep anyone else safe? Then it is about raising your awareness of what is happening around you, how you can protect your vehicle, your home, and your community.”
Little common-sense practices like telling your neighbours if you’re going to be away, locking your house when you’re not home and not keeping valuables in the car go a long way to avoiding being a victim of crime and reducing crime in the area.
Next year, NHW Greater Shepparton will celebrate its 40th anniversary. The group meet on a bi-monthly basis at the North Shepparton Community Centre to share insights and reinforce community safety. New members are always welcome, and various skills, experiences and availability can be accommodated. Aligning with NHW can boost your capacity to notice and deter criminal activity while contributing positively to the community overall.
A dinner was held on Tuesday night at the Mooroopna Golf Club for Cathie’s recognition, where she was presented with the State Award of Honour by NWH. If you’d like to get involved with NHW, contact Cathie McMaster on 0434 343 327 or catmcmaster@bigpond.com
