Thursday, 21 June 2007 - 3:08pm |
Canterbury

Small business safety workshops

3 min read

Six months after launching the Canterbury Business Crime Prevention Book, Canterbury District Police, Department of Labour, ACC and Trents have developed a series of workshops to assist small business owners put the ideas into practise.

The workshops start in July and will be presented and translated into the appropriate language for each group.

This is a Canterbury Police initiated project which saw the production of the multi lingual book and signage placed in shops earlier this year. The workshops are the next stage of the project says Inspector John Price, Canterbury Policing Development Manager.

"The aims of the book and the workshops are to prevent and prepare dairy owners for armed robberies and dealing with other crimes and incidents. The workshops present very simple ideas which can have enormous spin off for the businesses," he says. "The two different approaches complement each other."

Dairies and small retail businesses are often seen as an easy target as they carry cash and other items that are easily stolen, says Inspector Price.

"By making minor changes in the shop the owner can make a big change to their business. By making simple changes in layout and design, we can change the life, wellbeing, safety and prosperity of the owner, their family and staff."

Ethnic communities make up 8 -10% of the population of Canterbury but about 70% of dairies here are run by members of those communities, mainly Korean, Indian and Chinese.

Designed to be presented in four languages - English, Korean, Mainland and Malaysian Chinese, the workshops are practical and interactive, focussing on how dairy businesses can minimize the risk of being targeted for robbery and minimise the risk of harm in the event of a robbery occurring. They will also look at the best ways to assist police after an incident.

All the workshops will be free of charge and organised at the best times for the various communities to attend, which is usually on weekends or at night.

The simple changes being promoted are clearing shop front windows, (so passers by can see if anything is amiss), the positioning of counters and shelving- and especially the installation of a good security camera. A good crime camera is a small investment but a big return to a business, police say.

All dairy owners or owners of smaller, vulnerable businesses are urged to attend the workshops.

"We shall make this an ongoing education," says Inspector Price. "We hope to encourage new owners every year to attend and update."

Police and Department of Labour Health and Safety experts have worked closely with the various community groups to identify the concerns and also get their communities along to the workshops.

This whole project is about everyone taking responsibility and working together to ensure we make our communities a safer place to work and live in.

For information about workshop dates and times, please contact

Marie Metcalfe, Small Business Information Unit, Department of Labour,

03 964 6336, marie.metcalfe@dol.govt.nz

English

Four workshops will be offered in English. Workshops are 90 minutes long, followed by a 30 minute Question/Answer session.   • Tuesday 10 July 2007, 10am-12pm   • Wednesday 18 July 2007, 8.30pm-10.30pm   • Sunday 22 July 2007, 2pm-4pm   • Friday 27 July 2007, 8pm-10pm

To register or for more information, please contact Marie Metcalfe at the Department of Labour, phone 03 9646336 or email marie.metcalfe@dol.govt.nz

Chinese

Three workshops will be offered in English with Chinese translation. Workshops are 2 ½ hours long (including translation), followed by a 30 minute Question/Answer session.

Mainland Chinese  • Saturday 7 July 2007, 8.30pm-11.30pm  • Saturday 28 July 2007, 8.30pm-11.30pm

To register or for more information, please contact the Christchurch Zhonghua Chinese Society - Jim Li, phone 03 351 8969 or 021 1414342, email jianlye@gmail.com OR

Steven Ye, phone 03 940 9479 or 021 369 722, email chchzhonghuaxiehui@gmail.com

Malaysian Chinese  • Date to be confirmed

For more information, please contact Sam Yau, NZ South Island Business Association,

phone 03 942 3178, email sam.yau@paradise.net.nz

Korean

Translated workshops for Korean speakers will also be offered. These workshops are 2 ½ hours long (including translation), followed by a 30 minute Question/Answer session. Further details regarding dates and times to follow.

Registrations are essential. Numbers are limited to 30 attendees per workshop. All workshops are free of charge.