MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have been told that Victoria Police and not the shire should pay for CCTV cameras in the fight against crime.
Information recorded by the shire’s 44 surveillance cameras is not accessed by the shire and is “solely for the use by Victoria Police”.
A report to council’s public meeting on Tuesday 11 June said the shire’s CCTV policy was “out of date and rarely consistently adhered to”. The report recommends the shire continues to maintain its CCTV cameras but does not install any more unless they are paid for by the police or the state or federal governments. The shire spends about $200,000 a year maintaining the cameras and upgrading the system is likely to cost more than $1 million.
The report said research by Community Crime Prevention Victoria said CCTV cameras “should be actively monitored and on their own may do little to address crime prevention”. It says surveillance cameras “in public spaces support Victoria Police operations and response for crime prevention and investigation”. One of the reasons for installing CCTV stated in the shire’s 2014 policy included that they were for “the enhancement of the public perception of safety”.
Suggested amendments to that policy following a councillor workshop in March this year “changes the focus away from council installing and maintaining any new CCTV systems”. The amended policy limits the amount of money to be spent by the shire maintaining its existing CCTV cameras while saying any shortfall must be met by the police “or any other third-party agency”. Shire officers say it is “unsustainable” for the shire to install extra CCTV cameras despite receiving regular requests for cameras.
The report on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting prepared by community safety team leader Merg Mikaelian; community safety, health and compliance manager Dale Gilliatte; and community safety and compliance business support officer Sally Kellett, said police had been asked. about data kept on times and use of footage to help “resolving criminal matters” but “unfortunately” the response “indicates that they do not keep track of when they need/use CCTV footage and is obtained on a job-by-job basis”.
“With the increase of private CCTV systems being installed in homes and businesses, Victoria Police have created a secure state-wide database recording residential and business CCTV locations that can be accessed only by police investigators,” the report states.
“Mornington Police are urging residents to register with their local police stations their CCTV cameras set up outside their homes and businesses, especially cameras covering driveways, front yards, streets or rear lane ways and security doorbells that activate when pressed to enhance Victoria Police crime prevention capability.”
First published in the Mornington News – 11th June 2024
