In response to the continuing trend of car thefts in specific neighbourhoods in Oakville, North Oakville Ward 7 Residents’ Association organized a safety meeting to educate the locals. It proposed a neighbourhood watch by voluntary leaders.
Ron Chhinzer, a police officer for 15 years and a board member of the Residents’ Association, convened the informal community safety meeting on Oct. 9, 2021. Chhinzer brought his expertise in crime prevention to the meeting, sharing specific car theft prevention tips and highlighting residents’ role in deterring crimes.
Residents' Association
Officer Chhinzer distributed this flyer to educate the residents
“ We have a very vibrant and close-knit community. Before COVID, we had community safety meetings once per quarter. We hope to resume these in the first quarter of 2022,” Nav Nanda of the Residents Association shared. The in-person meetings generally have Halton Police representatives attending them.
Nanda expressed, “We thank Officer Ron Chhinzer for taking the time to educate our residents on theft prevention tips and look forward to working together with our stakeholders to ensure that we maintain the safety of our area.”
Officer Chhinzer, a volunteer to Ward 7 Residents’ Association for Neighbourhood Watch issues for a long time now, mentioned, “Success to crime prevention happens when community-driven initiative is taken at a grass-root level in alignment with the needs of the residents.” He also highlighted the benefits of using a steering wheel locking device and a diagnostic port blocker in curbing electronic car thefts.
There will be a follow-up meeting on Oct. 23, 2021, to discuss neighbourhood watch initiatives.
