General News
30 March, 2023
CEO rebuffs Bart's beefs
Bart Turgoose’s swipe at the council he hopes to join next year as a teenage councillor has drawn a response from the CEO. Mr Turgoose last week expressed his “utmost concern and disappointment” at what he said was Horsham Rural City...
Bart Turgoose’s swipe at the council he hopes to join next year as a teenage councillor has drawn a response from the CEO.
Mr Turgoose last week expressed his “utmost concern and disappointment” at what he said was Horsham Rural City Council’s “lack of action in fixing and upgrading the CCTV systems” in the city’s central business district.
“It has been left unaddressed for far too long,” he said.
“This is an extremely dangerous situation that puts the safety of the residents and visitors at risk.”
Horsham Rural City Council Chief Executive Officer Sunil Bhalla acknowledged 28 per cent of cameras in the CBD were not fully operational.
However, he said a maintenance and repair schedule was in place, and that the CCTV system was “effective”.
“I can assure residents the camera network does work in an effective lawful way and it has proven to be highly valuable when it comes to recent prosecutions,” he said.
“Some of the cameras do require maintenance, and we are actively working on having them back operating at full capacity.”
Mr Turgoose also called for the camera network to be expanded to include city alleyways and the riverside.
Mr Bhalla said council was advocating for funding to install additional cameras in recreational areas across Horsham.
“With the community’s support and in partnership with the Victorian Government and consultation with Victoria Police, we aim to improve public safety perceptions and address anti-social behaviour, criminal activity and vandalism or destruction of council and public property,” he said.
“We are committed to supporting not only the safety of our community and our visitors, but to the security of our local business owners.
“We want our city centre to be a hub where people can gather together safely no matter what time of the day or night it is and go to community events and support local retail outlets.
“Our quality of life and the liveability of our community is part of what makes Horsham such a great place to be.”
In its statement, HRCC also quoted Horsham Police Senior Sergeant Matt Haughton.
“The CCTV in the Horsham CBD is an effective tool in increasing public safety in the area,” Sen Sgt Haughton said.
“The mere presence of the cameras can deter potential offenders from committing crimes in the first instance.
“If incidents do occur, they can be used by police to monitor the incident as it unfolds and follow up to clarify exactly what happened.
“The footage from the cameras form an important and impartial piece of evidence when they are used during police investigations.”
Monitoring and access to CCTV footage is controlled in accordance with HRCC’s Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) Policy and a Memorandum of Understanding between Council and Victoria Police.