By JESSE GRAHAM
CASEY MP Tony Smith has pledged new CCTV camera networks around the Yarra Valley and Dandenongs if the Coalition is re-elected next month.
On Monday, 13 June, Mr Smith announced $420,000 in funding for new security cameras in Yarra Glen, Woori Yallock, Mount Evelyn, Monbulk and Mooroolbark, to be delivered if the Coalition is re-elected on 2 July.
The cameras will be funded through the Coalition’s Safer Communities Fund, and maintenance will be paid for by community groups, such as the Woori Yallock Township Action Group (WYTAG).
WYTAG would receive $45,000 under the election pledge, to establish a network of cameras around town relaying back to Lilydale Police Station.
WYTAG’s Rick Shaw said that, while crime wasn’t high in the town, Woori Yallock connected Pakenham and the south east to the northern parts of the state.
“What we do lay claim to is being the crossroads of, predominantly, this side of outer eastern Melbourne – we’re at the junction of the main north-south access from the northern highways to Gippsland,” he said.
“It means that anybody who wants to do something dastardly around the place has probably got to travel through Woori to do it, so it’s an excellent site for cameras from that point.
“The fact that we have a relatively low crime rate isn’t something we should take for granted – it’s something we’ve got to keep working on and try to keep it at that.”
Mr Shaw and WYTAG members said their group flag used to fly from a flagpole in the WYTAG reserve just off of the highway, but that it had been vandalised twice and removed.
Crime Prevention Officer Leading Senior Constable Linda Hancock said the cameras would be constantly recording, and could be viewed live from Lilydale Police Station in an emergency.
She said the cameras would supplement those in Healesville and Yarra Junction, and those proposed for Yarra Glen, Mount Evelyn and Monbulk to create a network.
“These are major intersections, connecting other large townships that have cameras, and this forms part of that wider network we’re trying to achieve,” Leading Sen Const Hancock said.
“It’s not a crime hotspot – yes, crime happens, but it’s a sense of community feeling of safety.
“We’ve actually got no investigative tools – it’s a long process at the moment with no cameras.”
Mr Smith said the cameras would help police to respond to and investigate crimes, such as theft, assault and graffiti, along with more serious incidents.
Crime Prevention Officer Leading Senior Constable Linda Hancock said that cameras in Lilydale had seen crime in the area decrease by 70 per cent – a figure that had “continually stayed down.”
Casey candidate for Labor, Hovig Melkonian, was contacted for comment, but was unable to comment on whether his party would match the funding, or announce similar initiatives.
