It was only a few months ago that Senior Sergeant Ben MacKenzie was promoted to Officer in Charge at Springfield Station where he is now responsible for the cultural engagement of the Police Liaison Officers throughout the whole of Ipswich as well as overseeing investigations in greater Springfield.
But in that short time as Officer in Charge, Senior Sergeant MacKenzie has made quite an impact with his motivation to inspire residents to help keep Ipswich safe.
“We are presently relaunching the Greater Springfield and Augustine Heights Neighbourhood Watch program,” Senior Sergeant MacKenzie said.
“Like a lot of things during COVID restrictions last year, saw less interest from our community, so we would like to get more community more involved.
“We are facilitating a neighbourhood watch meeting at the Springfield Lakes YMCA Community Centre on Wednesday 17 March at 6pm.
“Anyone who is keen to volunteer as a committee member, or with an interest generally in the safety of the greater Springfield area is welcome to attend.
Senior Sergeant MacKenzie said that thankfully throughout COVID-19, when the committee was unable to meet, community social media groups continued to play an important role in information sharing.
“Thankfully for us and our community, social media groups continued to play an important role in keeping an eye out on what was happening around town,” Senior Sergeant MacKenzie said.
“But my hope is to see these social media groups form the basis of a formal Neighbourhood Watch group.”
When speaking about his long career working in the Queensland Police Service since 1998, Senior Sergeant MacKenzie said it’s his staff who are the ones who inspire him every day.
“My sworn officers and administration staff in support, day after day, shift after shift, with genuine pride and professionalism in serving the community… to best achieve community safety,” Senior Sergeant MacKenzie said.
“My Liaison Officers also work just hard in making sure the Queensland Police Service is engaged locally.”
When speaking about the future in his new role as Officer in Charge, Senior Sergeant MacKenzie said he will be working hard to prevent the youth from entering the justice system through positive engagement strategies, and twill be working with our communities to prevent victimisation, all while Ipswich’s population continues to grow.
For more information on how to get involved in a neighbourhood watch near you visit myPolice Ipswich.
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