The City of Joondalup has deployed three mobile CCTV units to target hooning and other antisocial activities.
The cameras are currently at Hepburn Avenue to the east of the Greenwood train station, Whitfords Avenue near the roundabout at the intersection with Tenerife Boulevard, and Mullaloo Drive between Dampier Avenue and Oceanside Promenade.
They will be in place for another six weeks before being moved.
The city received $150,000 from the State Government to buy the cameras, with the project driven by Joondalup MLA Emily Hamilton and Hillarys MLA Caitlin Collins and supported by WA Police.
Joondalup mayor Albert Jacob said the new cameras would add to the city’s CCTV network, which helps deal with issues such as graffiti, abandoned vehicles, bulk litter and hazards in public space.
“The city will work closely with the WA Police in determining where the mobile CCTV infrastructure will be most useful and help to deter antisocial activity,” he said.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Cr Christopher May also attempted to request the city consider buying three additional CCTV cameras to be used at Whitfords West Park to “monitor the problematic underpass between Whitford City and the park and other locations deemed appropriate by the city”.
Cr May requested a report in December 2020 to look into CCTV outside underpasses near Whitford City shopping center and Whitfords West Park to deter crime and antisocial behavior and provide users “with a sense of safety and confidence”.
That report was then presented to the council in December 2021, which said the city had received State Government funding for mobile CCTV cameras and they could be temporarily set up at the underpasses as a trial to determine if there was “sufficient activity to warrant the expenditure on permanent infrastructure”.
However, Cr May said on Tuesday he had been informed the intention for the State Government-funded cameras was to monitor hooning and they would not be able to be used for antisocial behavior at hotspots for graffiti and other problematic behavior.
Therefore, he was requesting that the city consider buying its own cameras.
He said the underpass at Whitfords West Park had been a problem for more than 30 years, and with the park scheduled for upgrades in 2023-24, he believed the installation of CCTV should be prioritized before the installation of any new park infrastructure.
However, the request was defeated with the majority of councilors believing another report should be requested with details of the costs, resources and infrastructure involved and if there were other locations that would be more of a priority for CCTV.
Most councilors were also concerned that requesting the installation of CCTV before the park upgrades could delay the project.
A frustrated Cr May reiterated he had previously called for a report, and requesting another would just “push the can down the road”.
“It’s quite embarrassing as an elected member to say, ‘Sorry, I know for 30 years this underpass has been a problem but we can’t put a camera there. We can’t do anything about it because we need to call for another report,” he said.
“You can put in new park infrastructure for families to use, yet the park is considered by many in the community as unsafe.
“It’s getting a bit ridiculous to try and get something so simple done to ensure this underpass is safe.
“Maybe we need to look at closing it to the public.”
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