Crime prevention series

Safe streets

Published in:
Crime prevention for migrant communities
Kayleen M Hazlehurst
Canberra : Australian Institute of Criminology, 1990
ISBN 0 642 15514 3 ; ISSN 1031-5330
(Crime prevention series) ; pp. 27-28

Personal safety

Some people, particularly the elderly, are virtual 'prisoners of fear'. They feel they must stay at home. Even walking to the shops seems threatening. Crime divides the community - makes people distrustful and can lead to a terrible loss in community spirit. People avoid ordinary social exchange, are suspicious of each other, and are less likely to take an interest in public events.

Simple precautions can be taken which avoid personal risk and danger. The 'buddy system' (shopping in twos or threes, walking home with a friend after dark, driving or taking a taxi together); avoiding dangerous or lonely places; carrying money and valuables in a small purse on the inside of clothing which cannot be easily grabbed, are some of the techniques of personal safety which we can adopt.

The numbers of attacks on children have fallen where schools and communities have worked together in teaching children personal safety, talking to them about 'stranger danger', and working together to provide 'Safe Houses' where children can seek help during the hours they are walking to and from school. Children, like adults, need home safety knowledge - what to do when a stranger telephones or comes to the door what to do if there is an accident at home, and who they can call for help. (Police representatives will give many helpful suggestions for personal safety).

Old feuds - new country

Because of Australian government policy towards a multicultural Australia most of us have some neighbours who are from a different cultural background from our own.

Street relations may also be complicated by inter-ethnic living. If our neighbours seem 'foreign' we may be nervous or uncertain about them. Sometimes we bring with us traditional ill-feeling, feuds and prejudice towards other ethnic groups, or we may feel that they have ill-feeling towards us, and show this on the street, in school playgrounds, or at the workplace.

Racial or inter-cultural tension brings unhappiness to everyone. Australia is a new country. It offers us a new start, new opportunities, and new ways to overcome old feuds. The seed to resolution and peace with our new neighbours lies in community-based action.

Familiarity and friendship overcomes 'foreignness' and 'strangeness'. We can seek out the co-operation of the leaders of other groups in our neighbourhood for the common good.

Harassment or racial attack

Harassment, racial attacks, and intimidation can be dealt with. In serious cases these should be reported to the police. See if there is a police/ethnic liaison unit in the area which specialises in these kinds of problems.

Sometimes ill-feeling is based upon misunderstandings which get worse because they have not been addressed directly. Other times it is just two or three people making trouble for everyone.

Our nearest Dispute Resolution Centre, Mediation Service, or Community Justice Centre may be able to help arrange a series of discussions - or community peace talks - on the matters which are causing disruption between our community and another community group (see Appendix V, Hazlehurst 1989).