20th September 2005

New guides to help Asian community protect themselves against crime

From today Manukau’s Asian residents and visitors will have easy access to vital information on how to protect themselves against crime.

A range of literature produced in Korean, Chinese Mandarin and Japanese has been developed by Manukau City Council, in collaboration with Counties Manukau Police, and the Asian Council on Reducing Crime.

The material addresses three areas; combating shop theft, handbag security and safety tips for tourists.

A shop theft guide increases businesses’ security consciousness, gives advice on how to deal with suspicious activity and actions to take when shoplifting occurs. It is available to shop owners and business associations within Manukau. The handbag security brochure contains safety information on using ATMs, going out to bars and using public transport and will be distributed to all libraries, citizens advice bureaus and community constables in Manukau. The guide for tourists gives advice on preventing victimisation and how to report a crime to Police when English is a second language and is available to tourist operators, hotels and motels based in Manukau.

This is the first time since the early 1990s that such resources have been available in Asian languages in Manukau.

Councillor Dick Quax, Chair of Manukau City Council’s Community Safety Committee says:

“There are many things we can do to help protect ourselves and minimise the risk of becoming victims. Everyone should be armed with this knowledge.”

“There exists a range of crime prevention resources for English speakers in our community and I’m very pleased that Council and Police have joined forces to ensure that, through this new range of brochures, this essential information is now more accessible for our Asian residents and visitors.”

Asian Liaison officer, Justin Zeng from Counties Manukau Police says the launch of the Asian Council for Reducing Crime and the production of the brochures, seek to enhance communication lines between the Asian community and Police, with the assistance of the Manukau City Council.

"The initiative is also designed to educate and empower the Asian community about the law, their rights and how they can prevent themselves becoming victims of crime."

ENDS

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