03 September 2009
A new ‘Boat watch’ scheme has been launched to help improve marine services and reduce boat crime in St Helier.
The initiative is being led by The St Helier Yacht Club and the St Helier Boat Owners Association and is being supported by the Port of Jersey and the States of Jersey Police Crime Reduction team.
The scheme is based on the principles of the well known UK Neighbourhood Watch and its aim is to bring those involved in boating together to help keep an eye on the day do day well being of the marinas and to prevent marine crime.
David Langlois, Commodore of the St Helier Yacht Club said: “This scheme is designed to help ensure boat owners keep a watchful eye on the welfare of the boats and people in the harbour using them. It will be helpful in many ways, for example it could just be something as simple as somebody spotting a large piece of polythene floating in the water which could damage a vessels engine or foul a propeller. It is really about involving a little community spirit, along with an easy method of calling the 24 hour hotline line for assistance. These types of schemes have been very successful in many other sailing communities in the UK, and Jersey is the ideal place for Boat Watch to work well.”
The scheme is being jointly organised and run by the St Helier Boat Owners Association.
Honorary Chairman Mike Stevens is proud to be involved: “Anything which gathers the community together to help benefit all harbour users or prevent crime in any way is important, particularly when it is the boat owners themselves taking the lead. It will help raise awareness among boat owners and encourage people to think about safety and preventative measures. It will also ensure that anyone in the harbours area who spots anything, even something like a moored dinghy which has capsized, or any suspicious activity, is able to report it confidently and swiftly, meaning that action can be taken to resolve matters far more quickly.”
New signs are going up around the harbour and a 24 hour helpline will be set up for people to report any incidents of boat damage or crime. The phone line will connect directly to Jersey Coastguard staff working in the control room at St Helier VTS, (St Helier Vessel Traffic Services), who can refer any serious incidents to the police.
The Port of Jersey’s Commercial Director, Myra Shacklady said: “The response from the sailing and boating community has been very positive and we anticipate a lot of interest in the boat security packs which we have available at the Marine Leisure Centre. We hope Boat Watch will enable us all to work together as a team, improve services, remain vigilant and prevent crime in our Harbours environment. We have worked hard to achieve the five gold anchors standard in Jersey Marinas and we are confident that we have top class facilities which we want to keep crime free and safe. We hope that initiatives like Boat Watch, working with the local boating community and the States of Jersey Police, will help us achieve this.”
The States of Jersey Police Crime Reduction Team will keep in regular contact with marine communities, clubs, associations and the Port of Jersey.
DC Bruce Liron said: “Jersey Police are very pleased to support any scheme such as this. Like the well known UK Neighbourhood watch, initiatives like this are a valuable crime prevention tool and they work particularly well when they involve a partnership approach. We have made a number of boat security marking packs available to the Port of Jersey and anyone who uses one of these packs will be confident knowing that their property is registered on a security data base in the UK and their boat will have a sticker to demonstrate this. It can be a very effective deterrent. The Boat Watch scheme will add to the overall security measures already in place, and will be an important and welcome deterrent to crime in the Harbour environment.”
Anyone who believes they have witnessed an incident of boat crime or who sees something they feel is suspicious is asked to report it to the St Helier VTS line on 447705.
Security marking packs can be bought for £10, (a donation from the sale of each pack will go towards the Variety Sailing Trust.), from the Marine Leisure Centre on the New North Quay.
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