Those that are a bit older will probably say, well, people once called somebody on a fixed line telephone, went over to visit them or actually had a face to face conversation with them. If you needed to find something out, you might pop down to the library or if you were lucky, you had a set of Encyclopedia Britannica at home to look up information.

In any case, things have certainly changed and people will have their own opinions on whether it has been a good or bad thing. I often wonder, if in countries like Australia, where technology is widely accessible, whether we are going to get the same quality of sports people? Instead of running around outside all the time and engaging in physical activity, kids these days spend a lot more time on their iPad or PlayStation.

On the other hand, is this new generation going to be smarter than ever, with the rest of the world and information at the palm of their hands with the internet? I have hedged my bets on technology and think that there needs to be a healthy balance between the old and new life. I don’t mind my kids’ phones going to school so that they can be contactable before and after, but they need to remain in their bags during school time so that they can play and actually talk to their friends.

Whether you’ve embraced technology or not, the world has changed and there are now plenty of options to do everything that we have always done. As police, we’ve had to keep up with everything and you may be interested to know that we have a number of ways to engage with the community; whether that be for members of the public to report a crime or if it is for police to communicate relevant information to a wider audience:

Community Portal (portal.police.nsw.gov.au) – For online reporting of things such as theft, malicious damage and lost property; 

Police Assistance Line Ph:131444 – For non-urgent police assistance & reporting of matters similar to those listed in the Community Portal;

Crime Stoppers ph:1800 333 000 – To report information about crime in confidence;

‘The Hume Police District’ on Facebook – This is not used for reporting matters, but is a great source of information for things occurring in our district.

Of course, you can still pop in and visit your local Police Station or contact us to come out and see you.

Information and links to our services can be found on the NSW Police Force Website: http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/

As a father of four young kids, I share the challenges of getting that balance right. Good luck to everyone!

Until next time…