A spate of break-ins and thefts in central Maitland has prompted renewed calls for CCTV cameras to be installed in the CBD.
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Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon says the federal government should give Maitland City Council funding to install security cameras in the Levee precinct.
Thieves stole $25,000 worth of tools from construction workers between 3.30pm on March 21 and 5.30am, March 23.
The tools had been secured in a High Street office.
These included five beauty outlets and an op shop.
“With the spate of break-ins and theft that has taken place in and around The Levee and CBD within the past two months, it’s now time for Mr [Tony] Abbott to restore the funding based on a need, not on political partisanship,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
“I won’t rest until Maitland and Singleton councils’ funding is restored.”
The previous Labor government earmarked $186,340 for Maitland City Council in 2013 as part of the National Crime Prevention Program.
The money was to be used to buy and install CCTV cameras in Central Maitland’s shopping strip and Rutherford’s retail precinct.
But Labor did not deliver the funding before it lost government to the Coalition.
The Abbott government replaced Labor’s initiative with the $50 million Safer Streets Program.
Maitland missed out on its application for the first round of funding last September.
Port Stephens council installed six CCTV cameras in Raymond Terrace CBD, in the vicinity of William Street, in 2011.
Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures show that the number of assaults and robberies on roads, streets and footpaths in Raymond Terrace dropped for two consecutive years after the cameras were installed.