Police Seniors Register East Gippsland is a crime prevention and community care initiative by Neighbourhood Watch and Bairnsdale District Police to achieve a safer and more confident local community.
WHY HAVE A REGISTER?
The program is designed to make you, a senior citizen living in your own home, feel safer. It aims to give you, your relatives and friends, peace of mind knowing that the police are concerned for your welfare. While surveys have shown that older people are less likely than younger people to be the victims of serious crime, fear itself can have an adverse effect on their quality of life. It is that fear that the Bairnsdale Police and Neighbourhood Watch are endeavouring to minimise through the Seniors Register.
HOW DO YOU JOIN?
If you are a senior citizen residing full time within the East Gippsland Shire, you can complete the application and return it to the Bairnsdale Police Station or scan the application and email to the register administrator. The service we provide to you is completely free of charge. Each person on the register is issued with a laminated identity card.
IDENTITY CARD
The purpose of the card (which is about the size of a credit card) is to advise any person attending you in an emergency that your personal details are held at the Police Seniors Register. Whether out shopping locally, travelling interstate or overseas, in the event of an emergency the person attending can contact us for details of your next of kin, your doctor, and any health problems you may have.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU JOIN
Your details are entered on a confidential computer data base. You will receive your Identity Card and a welcome letter, together with a copy of the information you gave us on the application. If you have selected to receive periodic phone calls, one of our trained volunteers will phone you on a Tuesday morning within a few weeks of your application being processed.
TO FIND OUT MORE
To find our more about the Register or give your time as a volunteer, please contact the register coordinator. Email and other contact details are on the application form. Application forms are available at the Bairnsdale Police Station, or can be downloaded from the East Gippsland Shire website (Community/myfamily/seniors). Contact details are shown on the Neighbourhood Watch newsletter currently being delivered to local letterboxes, and are also available from the Advertiser Office.
