Application: Community Against Crime

There are many citizens who witness a crime but do not always come forward with their information. Although there's an option to report crime anonymously, some people fear the consequences of their actions. But if a crime were committed against you, you'd want some protection and to know that you'll be safe.

I have recently downloaded and experienced and application called Community Against Crime. It gives all users the opportunity to share and/or report crime in their local area, by submitting it through the application for CAC members to report. They only use the information on which you have provided and they may contact you for further information. Eg. "What colour was the car?" or "Do you know the house number of the street in which you have provided?".

From what I have experienced, this application is Australian-based and it probably won't help if you live outside of the country - unless you have witnessed something which occurred within Australia. It is still possible for overseas users but is not garuanteed, as there is a lot of CCTV footage available on the web and you may witness something.

This is a great application to keep up-to-date with crime in your local area, it is also a great way to help your community.

The Following information has been copied from the application. The developers and staff have provided the information on all of their websites and anything related.

The Program was developed to assist people in reducing crime. Police do a wonderful job but they cant be everywhere. With our program we can pass information on to the community about crime and what to look out for e.g; scams, theft, burglary's, smash and grabs etc. Any information that comes back to us will be handed to police.

We believe if you see a crime in your street but only managed to get the colour of the car for example, someone in another street may have the make & model. When you send an email to us with any suspicious behaviour in your area, we would place it in our newsletter and on our website for other members to see. This increases the chance of getting more information for the police, and increase the chances of solving the crime. Another example would be if your home was broken into you would let us know asap and we would alert those members with CCTV to check their data base for any suspicious vehicles etc, as burglars usually drive around the area and even door knock before doing the crime.

Community Against Crime is a FREE program for the community. We are still in our early days and need as much support as possible. If you would like to have Community Against Crime program in your area or you could volunteer, please feel free to contact us.

Contact and Social Networks:

Community Against Crime iTunes App

Community Against Crime Android App - Google Play

Community Against Crime Website

Community Against Crime Facebook

Community Against Crime Twitter

Community Against Crime YouTube

The Forgotten Complaints

Over the past few years, locals and residents have contacted the NSW Department of Housing on a matter of multiple issues. On contacting them, tenants and members of the public were advised to contact the police.

Seeking advice, some individuals contacted the NSW Police Department, who advised "contact Housing, they are responsible for their tenants and their actions". Contacting Housing, the individuals explained their situation to them and waited for a response - which never came. On final contact of several matters, it was explained "you have to give duty of care to members of the public, as well as your tenants. It is your responsibility".

Non-Housing:

These are some of the complaints that were submitted to the Newcastle office of the NSW Department of Housing and their website, by Members of the Public and Neighbouring Tenants of:
Mayo Street, Jesmond NSW 2299, Australia. These complaints are against Housing Tenants of this address and nearby.

• noise
• against tenants and neighbouring tenants
• hoarding
• vermin due to hoarding etc
• invasion of privacy
• verbal threats
• verbal violence
• threats against homes/estate
• threats of physical violence
• threats against personal property
• threatening lives

Housing Tenants:

These are some of the complaints tenants, submitted to the Newcastle office of the NSW Department of Housing, by the tenants of:
Mayo Street, Jesmond NSW 2299, Australia.

• noise
• against other tenants
• repairs
• extra occupants
• hoarding
• vermin due to hoarding
• lawn maintenance
• garden maintenance
• lack of bins
• lack of fencing
• lack of parking
• lack of pruning. Eg. large branches falling from the trees.
• lack of locks on mailboxes
• missing/stolen mail
• no storage areas
• unknown persons entering the premises
• unknown persons using the residence as a common daily pathway
• neighbouring residents using the property as a common daily pathway
• neighbouring residents causing arguments, verbal threats and physical violence on tenants of the property.

Edited 18/04/2013 17:35PM