Over the last 12 months, New South Wales’ Burwood Council has rolled out a complex program of CCTV cameras and urban lighting that is proving extremely successful and becoming the benchmark for all neighbouring councils in the Inner West of Sydney.
Several CCTV cameras cover the Burwood area, but what really makes the difference is Council’s monitoring service.
A modern state of the art control room, with the latest digital system allows a Council operator to monitor several areas and ‘hot spots’ around the Local Government area.
A direct link between the control room and the Police Local Area Command gives the police ‘eyes’ on the street to intervene quickly and defuse antisocial situations before they escalate.
As a direct result of footage from Council’s CCTV system, in the last year alone, police were able to lay charges in over 40 cases.
Residents and business owners have gradually become aware of the difference, but often Council and the police efforts go unnoticed.
Their experience and the live feed from Council’s CCTV control room means police officers are on location carrying out checks within minutes, with a great deterrent effect.
Burwood Council is also rolling out its NightSafe Program, aimed at installing additional lighting in public parks and along footpaths.
One example is a jogging and cycling track that runs along the Cooks River in Burwood’s Flockardt Park.
“At night the track became a dark uninviting place,” said Council’s General Manager Pat Romano. “But thanks to the introduction of over 25 solar lights, funded partly by State Government grants, it is now used at any time by runners, cyclists and families.”
