Shire of Esperance, Western Australia, is boosting security with investments in CCTV within the Esperance township central business district (CBD).
In December last year, the Shire received a WA Police’s State CCTV Strategy Infrastructure Fund grant of $210,000, to go towards upgrades as outlined in phase one of Council’s draft CCTV Master Plan.
The Plan, currently being developed in consultation with local police, lays out a phased approach to the upgrade and installation of CCTV for Esperance’s town centre and is expected to go before Council in the near future with the upgrade works to follow later this year.
A further $100,000, received through an extension to the Federal Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, has been committed to provide a robust backhaul network via an underground infrastructure (optical fibre), as part of the CCTV upgrades (and future expansions), to increase the efficiency of the upgraded CCTV.
Shire President, Ian Mickel said the improved CCTV would benefit the town both now and into the future.
“I think everyone will feel a bit more secure while in town with these better cameras.
“Esperance is already a very safe place to live and this will just be an extra tool for local law enforcement to utilise.
“Our aim is not only to upgrade our CCTV coverage in the CBD, but also to develop a network that will keep up with our future needs.”
Shire of Esperance Chief Executive Officer, Shane Burge said the funding would go towards much needed improvements.
“The current cameras in the CBD are getting a little long-in-the-tooth, these planned works will help us to bring them back up to modern standards.
“It is our hope that the system will aid in deterring antisocial behaviour and help everyone feel safe while in town.”
