After a spate of break-ins at central Maitland earlier this year, Maitland City Council is taking steps to prevent crime in the region and police have given it the thumbs up.
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At least 10 break-ins at businesses in the CBD area were reported to Central Hunter police between March and May.
On the back of community concern about crime in the city, council plans to use natural surveillance and other environmental design principles in Maitland’s Development Control Plan to deter criminal activity.
The new strategy could include a push to have new buildings orientated toward public spaces, make sure landscaping and lighting contribute to security, and create formal and informal barriers that channel pedestrians into certain areas around new developments to deter criminal activity.
If natural surveillance techniques are effective, tools such as CCTV cameras could then be saved for isolated places with high crime rates.
Central Hunter acting crime manager Acting Detective Inspector Mitch Dubojski said environmental design strategies had reduced crime in other regions.
He said police often completed environmental scans to make sure there were no spaces that appeared inviting for would-be thieves.
“Any attempt to improve security is a positive step,” Inspector Dubojski said.
“I believe it makes a difference.
“Vigilance by the community in reporting crimes to police is also vital.”
The new section of the DCP is expected to be put on public exhibition after a debate at tonight’s council meeting.
The change will mean that detailed crime prevention assessments will be performed on new developments.
These include mixed use residential and commercial properties, medium and high density residential developments, subdivisions in new areas, parks and other open public spaces, sport, recreation and entertainment areas and other high use developments where crime could become an issue.
Council has been conducting a thorough review of the DCP, which is the guiding document for development in Maitland.
While the policy has previously only applied to commercial areas in central Maitland and Morpeth, the reviewed document was expected to apply to all town centres across the local government area.
There have been repeated calls for CCTV cameras to be installed in the Maitland CBD and Rutherford shopping precinct, where several criminal acts have been committed in the past year.
