Big brother could soon be watching crime hot spots across the city if Liberal councillor Mitchell Griffin receives support on a notice of motion at Tuesday night’s council meeting.
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Cr Griffin is pushing for Maitland City Council to submit a grant application to help fund the roll out of CCTVC in two locations across the city.
He will ask council to apply for the funding as part of round four of the NSW Government’s Community Safety Fund. This would result in CCTV installed at Fred Harvey Sports Centre at Woodberry, and West Mall, Rutherford.
Administered by the NSW Department of Justice, the fund aims to reduce criminal and anti-social behaviour with a particular focus on disadvantaged and regional communities by providing grants for up to $250,000.
Cr Griffin said the Rutherford and Woodberry locations regularly see anti-social behaviour such as vandalism, graffiti and theft. He said CCTV would act as a deterrent to crime and allow retrospective investigation when an incident occurs.
“Both locations are known hot spots for anti-social behaviour,” Cr Griffin said. “This prevents the community from enjoying these areas, and has resulted in cuts to important services such as bus services in West Mall.
“Advances in the CCTV industry such as WiFi and Cloud technology makes this accessible and affordable. This grant would allow council to play its part in providing safe spaces for the community.
“Not only will these camera’s act as a deterrent, it will make it easier for police to investigate when a crime occurs. It’s time we start to do something about crime in these areas. This grant would allow council to take a proactive approach to making these areas safe again,” he said.
In response, council’s Planning, Environment and Lifestyle manager Bernie Mortomore said having looked at the guidelines and application criteria it would be extremely difficult to provide a fully documented and evidence-based CCTV proposal, and the supporting information required, by the August 10 due date.