MOUNT Gambier City Council will continue to invest in public security in the wake of violent incidents in the heart of the city last month.
The brutal bashing murder of Bordertown man Rex Court on Commercial Street on May 13 and a bloody street brawl on Gray Street only a few nights earlier left the community reeling and prompted calls for an increased security presence in the central business district.
Council chief executive Mark McShane said council had allocated $30,000 in its 2017/18 budget to improve the city’s closed circuit surveillance network.
“Last year council spent $80,000 upgrading the city’s CCTV network, with $40,000 of that funded by a State Government grant,” Mr McShane told The Border Watch.
“We purchased and installed 22 new, state-of-the-art cameras and replaced an existing nine outdated cameras.
“New cameras with improved technology and better facial recognition were rolled out across the CBD and in known crime hot spots to improve public safety.”
While the city’s surveillance network is funded by local government, closed circuit television cameras are monitored and controlled by Limestone Coast police.
“We work in partnership with South Australian Police – we pay for the cameras and SAPOL monitors them,” Mr McShane said.
“Council has allocated a further $30,000 to purchase and install more CCTV cameras in its 2017/18 budget.”
Prominent hotelier Guy Matthews – who operates the Mount Gambier, Park and South Eastern Hotels – welcomed council’s commitment to extra surveillance.
“As far as I know not a lot of other shops in town do have CCTV cameras,” Mr Matthews
“We have 32 cameras around the Mount Gambier Hotel, because surveillance is compulsory for hotels, with three or four cameras facing the street.
“The burden of public safety shouldn’t be placed entirely on council, if shop owners feel safer with CCTV it’s up to them too – I believe the more CCTV the better.”
Mr McShane ruled out the reinstatement of council-funded security foot patrols.
Security foot patrols around licensed premises and in the central business district on Thursday and Saturday nights were funded by City Council as part of a crime prevention program before they were cut from council’s 2014/2015 budget.
“The security patrols were discontinued about three years ago as they were deemed no longer necessary at the time,” Mr McShane explained.
“Having discussed with SAPOL we have decided there is no need for security patrols – there were limitations to what the foot patrols could do, they can’t interfere or have any involvement in any incident that might occur – essentially they were there to report to police.”
“We recently installed under verandah lighting on the main street to increase public safety and we maintain overgrown areas.
“Council continues to invest in public security but there is no silver bullet – the community has a role to play as well.”
Meanwhile, Mount Gambier Police officer in charge Senior Sergeant Chris King said an increased police presence in the city centre will continue indefinitely.
