Community Safety Strabane

ACT NOW! DON'T REGRET IT!

🚨ACCIDENTS DO HAPPEN 🚨

One mistake can change a life forever.

Every year, people are admitted to hospital after accidentally taking medication that was left in the home, stored incorrectly, or no longer needed. What may seem harmless in a drawer, cupboard, or handbag can have devastating consequences.

💊 Get rid of unwanted drugs now.

If you have out-of-date, unused, or unwanted medication in your home, please dispose of it safely. Taking a few minutes today could prevent a serious overdose tomorrow.

🟡 Safe disposal point available at: The Hub, Greater Ballycolman Community Centre

✔ No questions asked ✔ Safe and secure disposal ✔ Helping protect children, young people, families, and the wider community

Let’s work together to keep our homes safer and reduce the risk of accidental overdoses.

❤️ A small action can save a life.

Please share this message and help raise awareness throughout our community.

🛡️ COMMUNITY SAFETY MATTERS – LET'S STAY ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE SCAMMERS! 🛡️

Scams are becoming more sophisticated every day, and sadly it is often our older residents who are being targeted the most. From convincing phone calls claiming to be from your bank, to doorstep cold callers offering unnecessary work, fake text messages, online shopping fraud and investment scams, criminals are constantly looking for new ways to exploit vulnerable people.

The good news is that knowledge is one of the strongest forms of protection.

That is why we are encouraging everyone, particularly our senior residents, their families, friends and carers, to take a few moments to complete our Community Safety Engagement Sheet.

Packed with enjoyable activities, puzzles and practical safety tips, it offers a fun and engaging way to learn about today's most common scams and how to avoid becoming a victim.

Why not sit down with a family member, neighbour or grandchild and complete it together? It is a great opportunity to start conversations about staying safe, recognising warning signs and knowing when something just doesn't feel right.

Remember:

- 🚪 Never feel pressured to open your door to unexpected callers.
- ☎️ Hang up on anyone demanding immediate payment or personal information.
- 💻 Be cautious of emails, texts and social media messages asking you to click links.
- ❤️ If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- 🤝 When in doubt, speak to someone you trust before making any decisions.

Together, we can help protect our community, support our older residents and make it much harder for fraudsters to succeed.

Stay alert. Stay informed. Stay safe.

🌊🚸 Make Water Safety a Family Conversation 🚸🌊

Children are naturally curious about water, but they also need to understand that the equipment placed beside our rivers, lakes and waterways is there to save lives, not for play.

Our new activity sheet is a fun and engaging way for parents, grandparents and carers to spend quality time with their young ones while teaching an invaluable life lesson. Through games, puzzles and activities, children will learn what water safety equipment is, why it must always be left in place, and how it could one day save someone's life.

Every life ring or throwline removed, vandalised or damaged could mean the difference between life and death for someone in difficulty.

Please take a few minutes to complete the activity sheet together. By educating our children today, we can help protect our lifesaving equipment for tomorrow and encourage a generation that respects and values community safety.

💙 Learn together. Play together. Stay safe together.
💛 Protect Water Safety Equipment, It Saves Lives.

Replace Balcan Throw Lines with traditional Life Rings, A Smarter Investment for Public Safety in Strabane town.

Every pound spent on replacing vandalised or stolen water rescue equipment is a pound that cannot be invested elsewhere in our community.

Balcan throw lines have been repeatedly vandalised, deliberately deployed, or stolen. This has resulted in an ongoing financial burden for local ratepayers, with replacement costs continuing to mount year after year.

It is time to consider a more practical and cost-effective solution.

Traditional water safety life rings have proven themselves over decades. They are robust, highly visible, easily retrievable after use, and can be reused many times.

Unlike throw lines, they are far less susceptible to unnecessary deployment and provide a durable rescue option that offers better long-term value for money.

This is not about criticising any one product, it is about ensuring that public funds are spent wisely while maintaining the highest possible standard of water safety.

We are calling on the relevant authorities to review the current provision of Balcan throw lines and consider reinstating life rings at our waterways.

It is a common-sense approach that will reduce ongoing replacement costs, provide reliable lifesaving equipment, and deliver better value for every ratepayer.

Safer waters. Smarter spending. Better protection for everyone.

A Message from Rescue Joe

Hello Parents, Guardians and Siblings!

Water can be a wonderful place for fun, adventure and making family memories, but it can also be dangerous if we do not respect it.

I’m asking you to take a few minutes to use this educational flyer with your children, brothers, sisters, friends and neighbours to talk about the importance of Water Safety and the life-saving equipment placed around our waterways.

Every life ring, rescue rope and safety sign is there for a reason, to help save lives in an emergency. Removing, damaging or misusing this equipment can put someone’s life at serious risk.

By completing these fun activities together, you can help children learn how to stay safe near water, respect their community, and understand why protecting life-saving equipment is everyone’s responsibility.

PRINT, COMPLETE AND RETURN TO:

Community Rescue Service Western District C/o The Hub, Greater Ballycolman Community Centre, 318A Ballycolman Estate, Strabane, BT82 9EH

for entry into our weekly draw for a novelty prize.

Alternatively: scan and email your educational flyer to:

[email protected] or drop into our post box when next passing the community centre.

'IF YOU ARE NOT IN, YOU CANNOT WIN'

Let’s work together to build a safer, stronger community where every child knows how to Be Safe.

Let's Respect and Protect!

Rescue Joe

Please Talk to Your Children, It Could Save a Life

We are appealing to all parents, grandparents and carers to speak with their children about the dangers of interfering with life-saving equipment.

Tampering with or damaging emergency equipment doesn't just put the public at risk, it can also place the young person involved in serious danger. Such actions can delay emergency responses when every second counts, potentially costing lives.

It is also important that young people understand there can be serious legal consequences, including arrest, prosecution and even imprisonment for deliberate interference with emergency equipment.

Please use the attached information as an opportunity to have an open and honest conversation with your children, whatever their age. Helping them understand the importance of respecting life-saving equipment today could prevent a tragedy tomorrow.

Together, we can protect our communities, safeguard those who may need emergency assistance, and encourage young people to make responsible choices.

⚠️ ONE PUNCH. ONE KICK. ONE LIFE CHANGED. ⚠️

A single punch or kick to the head can kill.

What starts as a moment of anger can end in a lifetime of regret for everyone involved.

Victims can suffer fatal brain injuries, permanent disability, or life-changing trauma.

Families are left devastated, and those responsible may face years in prison knowing one split-second decision destroyed lives.

Walk away. Think before you strike.

No argument, insult or disagreement is worth a life.

Violence isn't strength. Walking away is.

ENJOY SAFELY.....

Take extreme care folks 🚿 🚰

Think about kids & pets also🤱🐕🐈

🚨 DISGUSTED AT THE CONTINUED VANDALISM OF LIFE-SAVING EQUIPMENT 🚨

Once again, we are left asking why?

Today we found four emergency throwlines missing and a fifth damaged along the Canal Walkway in Strabane.

These are not ornaments or toys, they are life-saving devices that could make the difference between life and death if someone enters the water.

Whoever is responsible clearly has no regard for the safety of others, or indeed for the impact their actions could have on their own family, friends or neighbours.
At approximately £50 per throwline, this reckless behaviour continues to cost the ratepayers of this town hundreds of pounds.

More importantly, every missing throwline leaves a section of the canal without vital emergency equipment when it may be needed most.

This issue is not new. Melmount Community Forum has previously engaged with DFI, Derry City & Strabane District Council and other agencies. We have proposed practical alternatives and measures that could help reduce this ongoing vandalism.

Unfortunately, despite discussions, promised communication and commitments to consider solutions, meaningful progress has yet to materialise.

Community safety cannot continue to be placed on the long finger.

This is about more than vandalism. It is about protecting lives, respecting public spaces and taking collective responsibility for our community.

We are calling on all relevant agencies to work together, revisit the proposals already put forward and implement effective solutions without further delay.

We also appeal to the public:

if you witness anyone interfering with this life-saving equipment, please report it.
A few moments of irresponsible behaviour could one day cost someone their life.

Enough is enough.

It's time for collective action, stronger community responsibility and a renewed commitment to keeping the Canal Walkway safe for everyone.

📱 Castlederg Mobile Phone Service – Urgent Action Required

Residents, businesses and frontline services across the Castlederg area have endured over a week of unreliable and, at times, non-existent mobile phone coverage.

This ongoing disruption is far more than an inconvenience. It is creating unnecessary difficulties for families, businesses, healthcare professionals and those responsible for organising emergency responses, where reliable communication can be critical.

In today's world, dependable mobile connectivity is an essential service. Communities should not be left struggling to make calls, receive important updates or contact emergency services when they need them most.

We urge the relevant mobile network providers to treat this matter as a priority, identify the cause of these ongoing issues and restore a reliable, fit-for-purpose service without further delay.

The people of Castlederg deserve better. Reliable communication is not a luxury, it is a necessity.