Annual Report 2004-2005 - City of Vincent

E NVIRONMENTAL AND D EVELOPMENT S ERVICES
Hyde Park.
Community Policing/Security
The issue of crime prevention and safety and security consistently
emerges as one of the areas of most concern in the community.
It has been identified, however, that no one agency should tackle
this issue alone – it must be an integrated approach, identifying
what the issues are and which primary agency is most
appropriately placed to address these issues. No one solution is
necessarily appropriate and it has been found that, to effectively
deal with an issue, multi-faceted strategies need to be developed.
The Town has signed a Partnership Agreement with the
State Government to progress appropriate solutions and to
develop effective strategies to deal with identified problems.
The Town continues to establish and maintain strong and effective
partnerships with a number of government and non-government
agencies and other local authorities, and it is through this network
that the Town is able to provide a holistic and relevant response to
issues of community safety.
Street Prostitution
For a number of years there has been an identified problem
associated with the increasing numbers of street prostitutes
operating in the Perth and Highgate areas. To respond to this issue
the Town entered into a partnership with the WA Police Service.
The Perth Prostitution Team continues to deal specifically with the
issue of street prostitution, and maintains a line of communication
with the community, Police and Council. The introduction of “Moveon
Notices”, enabling Police to require offenders to leave the area,
has proved to be effective.
Safety and Security
In keeping with the changes that occur within society, the role
of the Town’s Rangers has also changed. As the need for the
community’s personal security and the protection of their property
increases, the Rangers have been asked to pay attention to parks,
rights of way and other public places. This is carried out in liaison
with the Police Service to ensure that, where possible, police
officers are available to provide the necessary assistance.
In many cases this Ranger presence has reduced the incidence
of antisocial behaviour and is improving the amenity of the
surrounding areas.
The Safer Vincent Co-ordinator is active in developing strategies
and initiatives and continues to promote existing programmes that
have proved to be effective, such as ‘Tradersafe’, ‘BackpackSafe’
and ‘Look, Lock and Leave’. Both the state and federal government
tourism ministers have shown an interest in further developing the
‘BackpackSafe’ concept into a Western Australian or national
programme.
In 2003-2004 the Town completed the grant-funded ‘Safe Steps’
programme, to provide a safety programme for primary school
children. The aim of ‘Safe Steps’ was to reinforce the protective
behaviours and safety message for years 3 and 4 children. During
the 2003-2004 year, students at Mount Hawthorn and Highgate
Primary Schools worked with the Central Metropolitan District’s
Crime Prevention and Diversity Officer learning about personal
safety, crime prevention and security. A number of safety
messages were developed from the project, with 30 messages
being painted on to tiles which were then installed on footpaths
near the schools to encourage safe activity.
A series of seminars for the African and Vietnamese communities
has been run in conjunction with the Town, the Australian-Asian
Association of WA Inc., the Central Metropolitan Police District
Crime Prevention and Diversity Office and the Fire and Emergency
Services Authority of WA. The seminars explored the topic of
personal safety and safety within the home.
In addition, the Town has developed several programmes relating
specifically to:
- seniors
- Italian, African, Vietnamese and the Indigenous communities
- syringe disposal
- business safety awareness.
TOWN OF VINCENT _ A NNUAL R EPORT 2004-2005
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