Neighbourhood Watch Victoria
eNews
admin@nhw.com.au
Creating Safer Communities
www.nhw.com.au
June/July 2015
Personal Safety Month – June
Protect your identity
Courtesy: Australian Government brochure
Your identity is a valuable asset – to both you and criminals. Modern life requires you to identify yourself
everyday – opening a bank account, entering your workplace, obtaining a loan, collecting registered mail.
With enough information, thieves can pretend to be you and they will not be doing anything good. There are
numerous ways criminals can obtain your identity.
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You may lose your purse/wallet/handbag or have it stolen.
You probably carry more personal information than you
realise
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Your home may be broken into and personal papers stolen
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Thieves may steal mail from your unsecured letterbox
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Thieves may retrieve information from your recycling or
waste paper bin
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You may provide personal details over the phone or
internet to what may appear to be a legitimate business
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As a customer, your details may be stored on a computer
system. This may be illegally accessed by outsiders or
corrupt employees
Scam Watch
www.techlif
e.net
Courtesy: Stay Smart Online
1.
Nepal Earthquake
You are warned to look out for scam emails seeking donations for Nepal earthquake relief or other humanitarian
causes around the world.
These emails may include links directing you to phishing or malware-infected websites where criminals can steal
your personal or financial details. These messages may also include malware-infected attachments. If you click on
any links or open any attachments in these emails, or download any files from the fraudulent websites, you may
leave yourself open to identity theft or financial loss.
2.
Australian Federal Police
Scammers are circulating fake traffic infringement notices by email to trick people into infecting their computers
with malware that ‘locks’ their files until they pay a ransom.
The email purports to come from the Australian Federal Police and asks the recipient to pay a fine of $150 for a
traffic infringement. The email includes a link to what claims to be the infringement notice issued to the recipient.
However, clicking on the link actually sends the recipient to a web page that asks him or her to download the
‘notice’. This so-called notice is actually a file infected with ransomware designed to encrypt files on the recipient’s
computer. The user is then asked to pay the scammers hundreds of dollars to receive a key to decrypt the files.
3.
Callers from the ATO or Australian Crime Commission
The scammers reportedly claim to represent the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) or the Australian Taxation
Office (ATO) and tell call recipients that they face legal proceedings.
The scammers tell the recipients to call back on a number with the prefix ‘02’ in an attempt to add credibility to the
call. However, the call is likely to be redirected to the scammers’ true location overseas. At some point during their
conversations scammers will demand payment by wire transfer, electronic voucher or bank transfer.
The ACC and ATO have advised that they will not contact individuals by phone about legal proceedings.
400 Hours Per Week
Courtesy: Police Life Magazine Summer 2015
Police booze buses are out on the roads for up to 400 hours per week
and placed in sites based on road collision statistics and operational needs.
Up to 1000 breath tests are conducted by police during each booze bus shift.
A man in his 30’s in a business suit, a young woman driving a hatch-back and a 53 year old woman.
What do they have in common?
They have all been nabbed driving while on drugs, namely ice or speed.
Victoria Police’s Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section (RPDAS) runs eight drug and booze buses at sites
across the state. On a ‘bus shift’ up to 150 drivers will be tested.
quoteimg.
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Within minutes of setting up a site, a young driver without his P
plates is discovered. He is handed an infringement notice.
A woman is pulled over and steps out of her car and stumbles her
way to the bus, where she undergoes the next step in the process,
an oral fluid test. She later admits that she took speed about two
days ago and did not realise it would still be in her system. Her
sample was sent to the laboratory for further testing. She was
restricted from driving for 12 hours and had her licence suspended
for at least three months once her sample was confirmed in a
laboratory.
Booze/drug buses are used at country events such as Southern 80 at Echuca and Meredith Music Festival.
Leading Senior Constable Smith has been with RPDAS for 13 years and is still surprised by what he sees. He
pulled over a woman who blew .301 on a breath test. She almost fell when getting out of her car and someone
had to assist her and prevent her from falling over. She was an alcoholic and her daughter rang LSC Smith and
thanked him for taking her mother’s licence away.
After police have finished their training at the Victoria Police Academy they spend four weeks at RPDAS
expanding their knowledge of road policing.
Check out this website - https://www.youtube.com/user/VPBlueTube
There are several videos worth watching including:
The Police Officer’s personal account of the tragedy of the road toll – excellent and emotional
National Terrorism Alert Level for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People
New Craigieburn training facility
Do you ever visit the Crime Stoppers
Website?
www.crimstoppers.com.au
Valuable detail and excellent CTCV photos are there and many of those ‘faces’ – if you
know them, you will recognize them.
Please check it out and phone Crime Stoppers immediately if you recognize any of
their’ wanted faces’.
Editor
Highway Patrol Unit
Courtesy: Police leaflet
The Highway Patrol is a specialist group that police our roads to
assist in the safe and orderly flow of traffic and to enforce Victoria’s
road laws. The personnel are utilised as primary pursuit vehicles –
booze bus operations always involve the Highway Patrol.
The unit is called on for information and advice when dealing with
traffic matters such as vehicle impoundment and collision scene
examination. The unit also attends schools and community meetings
delivering road safety messages. Highway Patrol units are located
within most divisions and operate in areas closely aligned to municipal
boundaries.
Members receive advanced training and must pass examinations in Advanced Traffic Law, Vehicle Safety
Testing (Roadworthiness), Breath Analysis Instrument Operation and Speed Detection Devices such as laser
and radar. They must also attend the Motor Driving School for advanced driver training to attain a Gold Class
Driving Certificate to perform duties in high-powered vehicles. Advanced motorcycle training is available and
optional.
The State Highway Patrol consists of State Highway Patrol Units, Heavy
Vehicle Unit and the State Highway Patrol Solo Unit. The Heavy Vehicle
Unit is a specialist traffic unit tasked with reducing road trauma by
intelligently targeting fatigue, illicit drug use and compliance issues relating
to driving hours legislation to control the activities of truck drivers. The Solo
Unit provides a specialist motorcycle service in both on road and off road
capacities throughout Victoria’s metropolitan and regional areas.
State Highway Patrol Solo Unit
Photos: Chris Summers
 The State Highway Patrol Solo Unit consists of a fleet of on road
motorcycles and trail bikes
 The Solo Unit was formed in 1979 to assist in lowering the road toll and in escorting important international
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guests
The primary role of the Solo Unit today is road policing within the State of Victoria
The Solo Unit consists of 1 Senior Sergeant, 3 Sergeants and 15 Senior Constables
The Solo Unit conducts traffic management for internationally important guests including the royal family.
The Solo Unit utilises trail bikes to search for missing persons
The Solo Unit is involved in the traffic management of cycling events and races
The Solo Unit Training Wing is responsible for all motorcycle training within Victoria Police
To ride a police motorcycle, police members must successfully complete a 4 week motorcycle course
Currently there is only one female police member that is qualified to ride a police motorcycle
Photos courtesy: http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?document_id=39440