A 12-month trial of two CCTV cameras in Rocherlea has been given the green light by the City of Launceston.
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The cameras were one of the measures requested by a group of petitioners who want to reduce anti-social and criminal behaviour, hooning and erratic driving in the area.
The intersection of Lilydale and George Town Roads and the intersection of Lilydale Road and Waratah Road will be the trial sites.
Windermere MLC Ivan Dean submitted the petition on behalf of the residents, demanding action to get the “intolerable behaviour” under control.
Deputy mayor Rob Soward said it was clear that action was needed after residents outlined their concerns over behaviour which put the community at harm.
“When the Tasmania Police sat in on a workshop with Alderman, [we hard that] one of the things that CCTV cameras do is provide assistance in piecing together behaviours in the area in terms of traffic movement,” he said. “Obviously that would make it extremely useful to the police in positioning people’s movements and I know that the Commander and officer intimated in their remarks how useful that sort of thing is.”
Alderman Soward said the cameras were a welcome addition to the 35 cameras already installed to assist the police with public order management and surveillance of key areas as a community safety incentive.
“We are doing our bit which is very, very important and I am hoping that the 12-month period that the cameras are going to go in for will send a message and be useful way for the police to deal with those issues that the community has raised,” Alderman Soward said.
Ald Janie Finlay said the cameras were a small part of a larger initiative needed to support the community.
“Equally we need to support the other great work to ensure that we empower our community so that we can rely less on this kind of infrastructure,” she said.
The installation is expected to take two or three months, with time required to purchase the hardware and test 4G connectivity.