School Watch Program

The School Watch Program is a partnership between Education Queensland, the Queensland Police Service and State Government Protective Security Service, which aims to reduce vandalism, theft and arson in Queensland schools.

As the name suggests, School Watch is all about members of the community watching out for after hours crime in their local school and to report suspicious activities to the School Watch reporting number of 13 1788.

The catchphrase of School Watch is "Look, Listen, Report". This approach ensures that local Police or in some locations, State Government Protective Security Service can deal with the matter.

There are approximately 730 schools involved in the School Watch Program, which can be readily identified by the School Watch signs at the front gate.

Neighbourhood Watch groups are highly encouraged to include their local school as part of their area and in fact, some groups have been doing this for some time. Schools that are embraced by their local community are often the ones with low levels of vandalism, property theft and arson.

A survey on the School Watch Program has been included with this newsletter to find out if your NHW group either:

• Includes its local school in the area; or
• Would like to include its local school in the future.

A stamp self-addressed envelope has also been enclosed for the return of the survey.

There are many ways schools and NHW can work together to help create a safer community. Why not contact the school Principal to exchange some local knowledge and discuss ways for your school and NHW to work together. This may be as simple as using the school as a meeting venue.

If you would like to know more about the School Watch Program, please call Education Queensland's School Security Section on (07) 3237 0874.