Police foot patrols for Smart Street mall

Speaking in parliament last week, Ms Harvey said she was responding to local businesses that raised concerns about crime in the city at a breakfast forum in Mandurah last month.

“A number of business owners raised issues with me about safety in the Smart Street Mall and the Mandurah shopping area,” she said.

“Out of that discussion, we undertook to do some work with local policing teams to try to drive crime down through the Mandurah area and to provide some solutions.

“I am very pleased to announce that police have said that they will now put foot patrols in place during the summer period through the Smart Street Mall and along the Mandurah foreshore just to make sure they keep the pressure on those prolific priority offenders so they do not continue to target that foreshore area and so the area can be preserved for the amenity of visitors and the enjoyment of locals, and to ensure that homes and businesses are safer.”

Ms Harvey said between January and August, the Mandurah Local Policing Team had charged 859 people with 1561 offences, which is more offences and more persons charged than during the entire 2015 calendar year.

“The Mandurah LPT has been very, very active under the care of its new officer in charge,” she said.

“From January to August this year compared with the same time last year, we had a 17 per cent reduction in the number of burglaries.

“There has been a 30 per cent reduction in car theft.

“There has been a 68 per cent reduction in graffiti offences, down to seven reported offences in the period from January to August this year.”