20 cameras for Surfers
MORE than $3m will be spent expanding the city’s CCTV network.
In the year’s first major Budget announcement, Mayor Tom Tate said the city would pour money into security camera technology. Surfers Paradise will get at least 20 new cameras in a bid to clean up the area’s reputation.
Cr Tate said improving security was a key plank of the $1.7bn Budget, which will be brought down on June 23.
“Safety is a key priority for residents and I hear it every year through the community budget survey,” he said.
“We are again responding with this significant investment in new technology, particularly new mobile CCTV prototypes which use the latest technology, to better capof
ture and deter anti-social behaviour in our suburbs.
“The benefit is that the imagery will be of the highest standard, to support our hardworking police. Presenting evidence from our cameras, through the courts, has helped successfully prosecute hundreds of offenders.’’
Council already spends more than $5m annually on safety initiatives across the Coast and has 700 cameras in its network.
A report to council in February revealed the locations 103 cameras in Surfers Paradise. Most of them were on the foreshore and around the Orchid Avenue entertainment strip.
The research includes the revelation that Surfers Paradise is no worse for police incidents than Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. But the report warns that the precinct suffers from a negative image.
Council launched a Safe City Survey to obtain feedback on “what Gold Coasters perceive about safety”.
The response from residents will help shape future community safety programs.
Cr Tate said council would deliver a rates rise at, or below inflation in the Budget. “Last financial year we delivered a rates freeze as well as an actual rebate of $64 to around 138,000 ratepayers, to assist through the Covid challenges.’’