The completion of a $350,000 project to install and upgrade CCTV around Mandurah was celebrated at an official ceremony on Tuesday.
The project was an election commitment of Mandurah MP David Templeman as part of the Local Projects Local Jobs initiative.
Mr Templeman said he was delighted to see the project deliver for the people of Mandurah, after making the election commitment.
He said he listened to the local government when discussing where money was available and where it needed to be spent.
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“The election commitment was in negotiation with the City of Mandurah. The City of Mandurah has a keen focus on making sure they create a safe place for people. This was a key priority and I was very happy to make that commitment,” he said.
“Community safety and crime reduction is a big priority, the roll out of extra and improved CCTV capabilities is a big step forward in making Mandurah a safer place.
“The foreshore is a key pivotal focus point. It always has been and I think it always will be for those who come here to live here in the future and those who come to visit our beautiful city.”
The project involved the installation of new CCTV cameras, updating existing cameras, and a new optic fibre network.
The placement of the new CCTV cameras was worked out in consultation with the WA Police, who provided valuable insights into crime hot spots, where there was a need for surveillance.
Mandurah mayor Rhys Williams said council were aware of community concern with safety.
“In the 2016 Community Safety and Crime Prevention Perceptions Survey, our community desired a focus on better lighting, increased surveillance activities, and activation of public spaces, hence our focus on these initiatives over the past 12 months,” Mr Williams said.
“We are very thankful of the state government for this significant contribution. We know that the business owners in the city centre have been particularly concerned about anti-social activity in the area, so in addition to better surveillance, we have also provided more boots on the ground – with extra patrols around the Smart Street Mall area.”
Federal member for Canning Andrew Hastie was also at the ceremony and welcomed the completion of the surveillance roll out. “This is such a wonderful beautiful city but we do have issues with crime,” he said.
“It detracts from our city so we need to make sure that there’s a safe space.
“We have police for that and a range of ways to counter the problem but certainly CCTV plays an important part.
“That’s why I would be very, very happy to back any requests from the City of Mandurah for more funding.”
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