The establishment of a CCTV network in Shellharbour is not needed and could even increase fear of crime according to a council report.
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In the report to next Tuesday’s council meeting, staff have recommended that council not install CCTV in open public spaces across the city, but continue to liaise with police on crime and community safety issues.
The report cites Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures, which reveal there were 5309 reported crimes in the Shellharbour LGA in 2017. Only 245 of those crimes were conducted in a public open space – and these were mainly theft from, or of, motor vehicles and malicious damage.
Meantime the crimes were spread throughout the city – with no specific ‘hot spots’ identified.
“It is important that people feel safe when using public open spaces however it is important to differentiate between real and perceived safety,” the report stated.
“It may be that Shellharbour is not facing an actual crime problem but rather a negative perception of crime.
“If the crime statistics do not support the level of concern over public safety, council needs to consider whether other strategies would be more effective.
“It is important to remember that for some people, the presence of CCTV can increase their fear of crime as it may signal to them that the location is unsafe.”
Council staff consulted Lake Illawarra police, community organisations and other local councils which had installed CCTV.
Community groups raised concerns over illegal and anti-social activities at several locations across the city.
These included illegal trail bikes at Blackbutt Reserve; drug dealing, underage drinking and vandalism at Albion Park community and youth centre and motor vehicle theft, malicious damage and shop break-ins in Shellharbour village.
However the report stated that Lake Illawarra Police felt that the costs of CCTV would outweigh the benefits.
“The police advised that with a relatively low crime rate in the Shellharbour LGA there are other crime prevention programs that would be more effective in reducing crimes than the installation of CCTV,” the report stated.
Mayor Marianne Saliba said she didn’t personally see the need for widespread CCTV, requiring 24/7 monitoring, throughout the city.
“It sends a message to our community that it’s unsafe, that there’s an issue with crime – and there isn’t,” she said.
“I’ve lived here for a long time and the rates of crime haven’t really increased. And the types of crime – break-and-enters, car theft, assaults – could happen anywhere in the city so we’d have to have a camera on every street corner.”
Council does manage ‘reactive’ CCTV at a number of facilities to protect council assets. This form of CCTV does not require active monitoring, rather footage is recorded and used in the event of property damage.
For instance there are cameras at The Links, Illawarra Regional Airport, Dunmore waste facility, as well as Shellharbour civic centre, works depot, stadium and branch libraries.
Councillors will vote on the recommendations from the report on Tuesday night.