Thursday, 20 March 2025

Prahran electorate community safety

Rachel WESTAWAY (Prahran) (09:57): During the Prahran by-election voters made it clear that we urgently need to address rising levels of crime and anti-social behaviour. The crime rate in Prahran is three times higher than the state average. Serious criminal acts like firebombings of shops, home invasions and a machete attack on Chapel Street have made media headlines. Every person deserves to live their life in safety and without fear, but local residents and traders in Prahran constantly tell me they feel unsafe and at risk. Women, who make up 52 per cent of my electorate, feel particularly vulnerable. The state government must act immediately to provide the safety and security that Prahran locals deserve and expect.

Local police are run off their feet. They need additional resources to provide more visible police presence across the area and particularly on busy streets like Chapel Street and Toorak Road. CCTV is an important tool in modern policing, and it is not good enough that our area has to share very limited CCTV resources with other local councils. Funding is urgently required for more mobile CCTV units that can be exclusively used in our area to help police rapidly respond to criminal activities as well as helping them to identify and arrest offenders. The government cannot simply talk tough on crime but then fail to deliver like they have done with botched bail laws and delayed machete bans. Action needs to be taken now to reduce crime and make our area safer.