Woombye crime-fighting kids in a class of their own

Acting Sargent Tina Bland from the District Crime Prevention Unit during the recent police visit to Woombye State School.

Sunshine Coast police have awarded Woombye State School students for their work in educating their peers about property crime.

In an effort to encourage the community to lock the doors to their cars and homes, Sunshine Coast police, led by the District Crime Prevention team, ran a competition for local primary schools.

The premise was to create an educational resource that could be used to educate friends, family, school and wider community about the simple steps to take to secure your property.

Class 6B from Woombye State School was crowned the winner for designing an educational poster and won a visit from police.

Officers from the Dog Squad, Water Police, Highway Patrol and local stations attended the school this morning to congratulate the class on their crime fighting efforts with a sausage sizzle.

Students also got to wave to Polair as it flew over the school, and received a shout out from the police communication centre on the police radio system. 

Sunshine Coast District Officer Acting Superintendent Chris Toohey said the winning entry was a fantastic reminder to the students’ peers and families on how to secure property.

“We hope this initiative encourages children from a young age about the importance of personal and property safety,” Acting Superintendent Toohey said.

“We hope the children are empowered to remind their parents to lock the door as the family is leaving the house or getting out of the car. We thank Woombye State School for getting involved in this initiative to educate their students. It was great to meet so many of the students and watch them interact with their local officers.

“There are many simple steps we can take to deter opportunistic thieves including locking doors, gates and windows to your homes and vehicles and keeping valuables, like keys and wallets, out of plain sight.

“It’s important for everyone, including our kids, to play our part in making our Sunshine Coast community a safer place.”

This school competition is part of an ongoing focus on crime prevention to help our community strengthen their property security, which will also include upcoming pop-ups at shopping centres these school holidays. 

• For more tips on how to secure your property, visit: www.police.qld.gov.au/safety-and-preventing-crime