Maitland Mayoral hopeful Brian Burke has put out the call this week for some form of security measures to be introduced to protect Maitland City Council’s recent multi million dollar spend on a number of big ticket facilities across the city.

Almost everywhere you go these days there is security either in the human or high tech form. On the streets and highways, in your local pub or club, in shops and hospitals.

Sadly it has to happen to protect not only human life but also valuable infrastructure such as The Levee, our new indoor pool and state of the art sporting facilities.

Cr Burke’s push to step up surveillance in the CBD has come at the right time.

Never before has Maitland City Council invested so much in this city and never before has society faced such high levels of crime. But our police force can only be stretched so far, tackling an increasing incidence of domestic violence and trying to fight the ice epidemic.

NSW Police Association president Scott Weber said in March that it is essential there is an end to the boom and bust cycle of police numbers and that police numbers should be increased strategically to meet the growing needs of a community. He said the force needs a full audit to show where the priority lies for staffing to enable police hierarchy to urgently address critical police shortages.

The call comes at a time when ice-related offences hit an all-time high in the Hunter as reported by Fairfax Media April.

As communities grapple with the drug’s grim effects, new figures show the problem is worsening. Newcastle (25 per cent), Maitland (36 per cent) and Port Stephens (21 per cent) experienced significant rises over the past year in charges for amphetamines use. The number of offences have never been higher.

Following the destruction of gardens at Maitland’s newly refurbished No. 1 Sportsground, Cr Burke issued his call. He cited a plan in Morpeth where traders funded their own security guard. Vandalism stopped. Cr Burke has also flagged the possibility of CCTV being installed in The Levee.

The time is right to implement a security program to protect what is ours. Council has invested ratepayers’ money wisely to enhance what the city can offer. Surely we need to protect what is ours.