Burwood Mayor John Faker has led a meeting between Council, the local police and the business community to address safety concerns at Burwood Park in Sydney’s inner west.
Mayor Faker said poor lighting and opportunities to hide in the park’s overgrown bushes were factors increasing the community’s perception of the park as an unsafe place.
“This deters residents from enjoying the park at night, and encourages gangs to move in,” said Mayor Faker.
Increased lighting, police presence, as well as tree and bush pruning are some of the strategies identified to minimise chances for offences to be committed. Council has already started pruning bush overgrowth and tree branches away from lighting poles, and has contacted Energy Australia to request the urgent and ongoing replacement of broken lights.
In turn, Mayor Faker welcomed Burwood Police’s commitment of more police to patrol the park at all times, particularly on Thursday to Saturday nights. Burwood Police’s increased presence includes a range of high visibility and covert operations, such as random breath testing around the area, and undercover and uniform police patrols.
“The park will be more appealing to the community in general,” said Mayor Faker. “Increased resident presence and improved lighting will take away the advantages for crime opportunities that darkness and isolation offer.”
Additionally, Council is investigating the costs of setting up closed circuit television cameras linked to the local police headquarters.
“Each year, ratepayers see $22,000 spent on repairs to the municipality’s parks due to vandalism,” said Mayor Faker. “Closed circuit television cameras would allow police to identify offenders and take appropriate action.”
