http://www.themercury.com.au/art ... _tasmania-news.html
CHARLES WATERHOUSE
September 24, 2009 08:43am
POLICE are increasing the number of officers on the beat in Hobart's CBD in response to concerns about crime.
Officers will also meet regularly with city businesses to discuss crime prevention.
The measures follow the Save Our City summit meeting in April called by Hobart alderman Ron Christie in response to growing concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour in the city.
Head of the Hobart Public Order Response Team Inspector Stuart Scott said it was clear from the summit that retailers wanted a greater police presence in the city.
"We are putting in a fairly hard-nosed police presence in the CBD as much as we can with what we have got," Insp Scott said.
"We are working very hard to maximise our upfront beat work.
"We are trying to provide a type of policing to the city which is about engagement with the public in a really meaningful way.
"We feel that is best done on foot or a pushbike. It's about genuine engagement in a friendly, fair and very firm way."
A spin-off from the summit is the Safer Hobart Community Partnership which, although still under development, involved senior people from government agencies, Hobart City Council, the Australian Hotels Association and businesses.
From that group various strategies were being rolled out.
"We hope they are sustainable to make a real difference to community safety and perceptions of safety," Insp Scott said.
"We think the two are linked."
A number of strategies had been implemented already, including Business Beat, where police visit local businesses to hear concerns and offer security advice.
"We are trying to have a much more collaborative and strategic approach to safety in the city and not just treating it as single agencies," Insp Scott said.
Although rates of public place assaults, offensive behaviour and vandalism were all down on last year, those drops would only be sustained with great commitment from all parties, he said. |
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