THE SUN NEWSPAPER THIS WEEK

You may have read an article in this week's Sun newspaper in which Monica Zwolsman wrongly states that members of Oxenford Neighbourhood Watch patrol the area.

Monica quotes me as saying, "We patrol ourselves day and night and suspicious behaviour is reported to the Coomera Police."

I never said this -

because patrols do not form part of how any Australian Neighbourhood Watch Group operates.

What Monica - who is South African - has done is that she has made an assumption. She has assumed that Australian Neighbourhood Watch Groups operate the same way South African groups do ....

In South Africa, if you belong to a Neighbourhood Watch Group, you do patrol. You are rostered with your fellow neighbours to patrol the area in which you live - usually at night - always in pairs and always armed.

Thankfully in Australia we have absolutely no need to do this - of course - so let's stop for a moment and count our blessings. :)

Dominique