The CCTV network is being upgraded and expanded in the Bunbury CBD. The City of Bunbury will receive $469,000 for a Withers Fibre Link Connection, providing for the installation of a fibre optic link to create a stable connection between the city’s CCTV control room and the Withers Library server room. Funding will also allow for the expansion of the CCTV network into other public areas including along Ocean Drive, with another $145,000 provided to the City of Bunbury for five CCTV cameras in ‘hotspots’ around the CBD to enhance the city’s safety. The Chamber welcomes the expansion of the CCTV network, which CEO Mark Seaward said had a preventative effect on criminal behaviour. “With the recent spate of burglaries predominately in the light industrial and commercial areas of Bunbury, we welcome any investment in systems that help catch and dissuade the criminal activities which have a negative effect on the businesses and families involved,” he said. In June, Member for Forrest Nola Marino announced more than $620,000 worth of projects to make the South West safer, with almost all going to the City of Bunbury for the fibre optic link and extra CCTV cameras.
The funding has been committed under Round 2 of the Federal Coalition Government’s $40 million Safer Communities Fund, with Nola announcing that only safe communities can be strong and prosperous, and the best way to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour is to prevent it happening. City of Bunbury Mayor Gary Brennan said the funding would go a long way in upgrading the current CCTV network and thanked Nola. “Community safety is always a high priority for the City of Bunbury and the expansion of the CCTV network will help our residents to feel safer,” he said. “Upgrading the current infrastructure will also ensure the network is in working order.”
The $40 million Safer Communities Fund has two streams.
- Stream One will boost the efforts of identified local governments and community organisations to address crime and anti-social behaviour by funding crime prevention initiatives (such as fixed and mobile CCTV and lighting).
- Stream Two will boost efforts to protect schools, pre-schools and community organisations that are facing security risks associated with racial or religious intolerance.
