AFTER only being installed at the beginning of this month, the CCTV system at Waterways Estate is already paying off by protecting residents from car thefts and break ins. Footage was provided to Victoria Police in relation to attempted house and car break ins that occurred in the early hours of Tuesday 13 August.
“The concept of cameras in our estate was first raised by the Waterways Neighbourhood Watch Group four years ago, due to a crime wave at the time” said the chairman of the Waterways Owners Corporation Stephen Bardsley.
“It has actually taken four years to get it through council, Victoria Police, and the state government to allow us to proceed with the plan.” Kingston council gave unanimous approval in June for the estate to begin a one year trial of CCTV. “There is no cost to other ratepayers,” said Bardsley. “The program is funded completely by the 754 lot holders in the estate.”
The one year trial is believed to be costing the residents around $30,000 which equates to around $40 per property per year, and will be evaluated after 12 months to see if the CCTV has resulted in a decrease in crime. “We believe that crime had been increasing in Waterways over the last few years as outsiders saw the area as a soft target,” said Bardsley. “The majority of crimes we were experiencing were home and car break ins.” “But now we have every entry and exit point of the estate covered with CCTV to make sure and crime does not go unnoticed.”
Bardsley can see other benefits for residents such as reduced insurance costs and increased property values once word gets out about the safety of the Waterways Estate. “The purpose of the CCTV is to act as a crime deterrent and to aid police in achieving convictions,” said Barsley. “Only the police can access the footage which was important to us to allay privacy concerns. “We are really keen to see how this plays out over the next twelve months and see how much safer our little part of the world becomes.”
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 21 August 2024