Criminals off our streets: AHA (NSW) calls for action on street crime
Blanket CCTV coverage should be immediately introduced in Sydney's busiest entertainment areas as the first step to improving public safety, AHA (NSW) CEO Paul Nicolaou said today..
Mr Nicolaou said CCTV played a major role in crime prevention in cities across the globe and he was amazed areas like Kings Cross, Darling Harbour and the Rocks were not fully covered.
"The urgent need for full CCTV coverage was made obvious by the tragic death of Thomas Kelly in Kings Cross on Saturday night," Mr Nicolaou said.
"This tragedy shocked Sydney and has shown the need for all stakeholders – police, council and the community to now work together on making this city safer.
"It has been too easy to simply blame licensed premises for too long without any attention being paid to the very obvious problems in places like Kings Cross – problems with late night transport, pre-fuelling and people mixing drugs with alcohol in particular.
"Assaults in licensed premises are at their lowest levels in a decade and it's time we put some practical initiatives in place out on the street – CCTV is a great place to start."
Mr Nicolaou said there was no reason for the cameras to not already be in place in areas like Kings Cross and Darling Harbour.
"This should have been done years ago, quite simply, council has no excuse," he said.
Mr Nicolaou also called on the State Government to look at tougher penalties for violent behaviour on our streets.
"The 99.9% of people who go out in the city on Friday and Saturday nights and do the right thing have had enough," he said.
"We need to make it clear that if you are take drugs or drink alcohol and commit a violent offence on our streets you will face the full force of the law. You can't stop people going to areas like the Cross but you can make it safer."
Mr Nicolaou also called for an immediate roundtable meeting of all stakeholders in the late night economy – including licensees, Sydney Council and police – to address the issue of making the city safer.
Source: Australian Hotels Association, 16 July 2012
