Cumberland Council has been awarded $75,000 to help local people from diverse cultural backgrounds protect themselves against crime.
Attorney General Mark Speakman today announced NSW Government funding for the Living Safe in Cumberland program.
“Forty workshops will be held across the Cumberland Council area to raise awareness of what local people can do to reduce the risks of being a victim of crime,” Mr Speakman said.
“The sessions, to be conducted with the assistance of police, will focus on preventing some of the region’s most prevalent offences including fraud, robbery, burglary, stealing from motor vehicles and domestic violence.”
Bilingual community educators will assist in delivering the program in five languages.
Cumberland is one of the nation’s most culturally diverse areas, with more than half of its population born overseas and almost 18 per cent arriving in Australia within the last five years.
“Some newly-arrived residents come from countries where they may had negative interactions with police or the government, so these workshops will be particularly important in terms of building relationships and trust with local authorities” Mr Speakman said.
Cumberland Mayor Greg Cummings said the workshops would be held in Arabic, Dari/Farsi, Korean, Mandarin, Tamil and Urdu.
“We want people from all backgrounds to have the assistance they need to feel safe, welcome and able to make a positive contribution to NSW” Mr Cummings said.
Living Safe in Cumberland is funded by the government’s Safer Community Compact program which provides up to $1.365 million in grants each year to help councils deliver grassroots solutions to crime.
Learn more about Community Safety in Cumberland.
