Oxford St CCTV plan
The City of Sydney has announced plans to install closed-circuit television cameras along Oxford Street to make the strip safer.Amid continuing concern about anti-gay violence on Oxford Street, the City of Sydney said this week it planned to put seven CCTV cameras on the strip. The cameras would be installed in locations chosen by police.The plan still needs Council approval. The cameras are expected to be up by the end of the year.Council also wants to install cameras in Glebe and in Surry Hills near Prince Alfred Park.CCTV doesn’t offer a complete solution to crime, but often it acts as a deterrent to crime while providing police with another resource to apprehend offenders the City’s acting chief executive Monica Barone said.The City currently operates a 60-camera CCTV system which is monitored in real time 24 hours a day and can transfer live footage to police command centres.An Oxford Street safety forum in April heard CCTV cameras could help reduce crime because police could not patrol the strip at all times.But Robert Tait from Darlinghurst Business Partnership told the forum cameras could undermine privacy.
