Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Crime prevention and community safety are issues of great importance in every electorate; however, they are particularly important in my own electorate of Stirling. I have always done whatever I can to get the federal government involved in reducing crime within my local community. I am pleased to report to the House on one of the successes that we have had to date. I have been very fortunate to work alongside the City of Stirling in our efforts to address assault, hooning and vandalism across the Stirling electorate. In November 2008, I was very proud to help deliver to the City of Stirling their safer suburbs plan. The plan was developed in conjunction with the Department of the Attorney General, my office and the City of Stirling. It involved the implementation of 14 community safety measures over 12 months. These included additional community safety patrols and officers to increase the existing services while monitoring and deterring antisocial activity in known hotspots throughout the city. The Mayor of the City of Stirling, Councillor David Boothman, was instrumental in helping secure funding, and I congratulate him and the other councillors for their efforts and contribution.

The safer suburbs initiative aims to improve safety and security in the area by reducing the amount of preventable crimes through a variety of initiatives. Now just over one year in operation, the plan has been a very great success. The program has overseen the operation of closed-circuit TV cameras across the electorate and delivered a large-screen monitor to track vehicles and to improve response times using GPS technology. Public amenities have been improved and damage to council property has been significantly reduced. Beach patrol vehicles for police as well as beach inspectors and security patrols are now patrolling Stirling’s beaches, deterring inappropriate behaviour and enhancing the beach-going experience for Stirling residents and for others who visit our wonderful beaches.

The security of the local community, including the security of our seniors, has been significantly enhanced across the electorate. The safer suburbs plan was launched with three clear objectives: to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour citywide; to increase the perception that Stirling is a safe place for both residents and business operators to work in and to live in; and to enhance the availability and quality of evidence available to police to identify and prosecute offences as they occur. I am confident that the plan has done all of this and more.

A recent example of this success was on display during the New Year’s Eve festivities within the Stirling beach precincts. In the past, New Year’s activities at Scarborough beach in particular have been marked by antisocial behaviour and hooliganism. This year, thanks to the efforts of Operation Aquila, an initiative delivered through the safer suburbs plan, the New Year’s Eve festivities went off without a hitch. That is a great testament to the police and to the council involved in this particular operation. The operation included extra vehicle patrols at the precinct, including local residential streets, ATV patrols of the beach itself, monitoring of the CCTV system funded by the former coalition government, road closures along the Esplanade and electronic roadside messages. The night was a huge success for revellers and was an excellent example of the community working together to deliver safer suburbs. Special mention must be made of the Scarborough police officers and the City of Stirling rangers who work tirelessly to make nights like New Year’s Eve and more recently Australia Day safe occasions for the community.

I would point out the success of the CCTV system installed throughout Stirling which the coalition government funded to the tune of $85,000 and which is monitored as part of the safer suburbs plan. The system has helped make our community safer for the elderly, families and all residents of the electorate—and, most importantly, it has made it easier for police to catch criminals. The CCTV system has allowed local police to use footage of crimes as evidence in order to identify and prosecute people who are doing the wrong thing. Not only has this ensured more arrests have been made but also it has deterred people from committing crimes or engaging in bad behaviour in the first instance. Again, the CCTV network has proved to be a very successful safety initiative delivered under the safer suburbs plan.

The City of Stirling has joined me in exploring ways to tackle the scourge of graffiti across the electorate. I joined the City of Stirling’s fight against graffiti, along with some of my state colleagues, by participating in the volunteer graffiti reduction program, which aims to educate volunteers and offenders in the true cost of graffiti. We all attended the program where we learned how to deal with graffiti. I congratulate the City of Stirling on this initiative. (Time expired)