Brevet Sergeant Bruce Lawton with Rocky, 10-month-old labrador training to be a drug dog.

Brevet Sergeant Bruce Lawton has worn many hats throughout his 31 years of involvement with Neighbourhood Watch (NHW).

During the workday, Bruce's focus is on SAPOL's four-legged officers.

For the past 17 years, he has trained and handled police dogs as part of the Dog Operations Unit. Neighbourhood Watch, however, has enabled him to stay closely connected to the people and communities SAPOL serves.

Bruce, who is the Police Coordinator for the Hope Valley/Highbury NHW Area, became a NHW volunteer two years before joining SAPOL.

“I had just moved to Highbury, and I wanted to get involved within the community,” he said.

Although Bruce has only been the Area’s Police Coordinator for six years, he had 24 odd years prior experience.  After serving as the unofficial deputy coordinator and mentoring numerous young officers as they took on the role, he was well equipped when the need arose.

“I've been doing it a long time, so I guess I'm doing the right thing because I'm still here,” he said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bruce collaborated with Highbury and Hope Valley NHW Area Coordinator, Phil Tavender, to produce the Area’s newsletter. This meant residents still received NHW information even though meetings were cancelled.

In 2023 and 2024, when Phil was unable to attend to his duties due to illness, Bruce arranged and ran all the NHW meetings as well as managed all aspects of the newsletter from sourcing and writing articles, to printing and organising distribution. “I’m not a writer at all, but I still took it on,” he said.

Bruce’s favourite Highbury and Hope Valley NHW initiative is the ‘Outstanding Community Service Award’ for their local primary school.

“One of our volunteers got the idea from another neighbourhood,” he said. “We arranged so that we’d present an award to the student that demonstrated community spirit and Neighbourhood Watch ideals over the school year. It’s been going on for the last six years; they get their name on a perpetual trophy and $100.”

The award encourages children to get involved with their community. “The award recipients have demonstrated a broad range of community-based volunteer efforts both within and outside the school environment,” Bruce said. “It’s not an award for helping the sports teacher put out the training cones, they must have demonstrated a commitment to their community.”

Some of the things the kids have done include donating their hair for wigs, assisting with Meals on Wheels, helping elderly neighbours with yard duties and putting out their bins.  It’s been heartening and impressive for Bruce to witness what primary school children are doing for their community.

Over his three decades with NHW, Bruce has seen significant changes in how communities connect and engage with one another and the impact this has had on NHW.

“People don’t seem to want to come out to a monthly meeting anymore,” he said.  “They are busy with life and are more inclined to be on a social media platform.

“What I like about our local area meetings is that people from the community, albeit not so many these days, come together and talk to each other face to face. They get to know each other, which in turn, can lead to disclosure of relevant information regarding crime prevention in our area.”

Bruce stressed that NHW is not about watching your neighbours. “It’s about knowing them and developing those relationships,” he said. “The rest comes automatically, like helping each other out with the bins and mail, or even spotting someone suspicious.”

Bruce’s policing role is very different to his role as a NHW Police Coordinator. However, there are some similarities, with both built on trust and connection. “In both roles, relationships are important,” Bruce said. “I work closely with my canine partner and we get to know each other, and work together to achieve an outcome, not dissimilar to my role in NHW, where we get to know our volunteers and neighbours and, from that, outcomes are achieved.”