WHAT DO YOU THINK? SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS STORY TO POST A COMMENT.YARRA Council has increased its syringe-management service, at the same time it rejected a police request to install CCTV in a well-known Richmond drug hotspot.
Under a new agreement with InnerSpace drug safety service, 30 sweeps will be performed daily to remove used needles from well-known dumping grounds across Yarra. Fifteen new syringe disposal bins have also been installed across Richmond and Abbotsford.
The council voted 8-1 to reject the CCTV proposal last Tuesday night, arguing it was an exercise in cost-shifting, and that it was not the council's role to facilitate police work.
Mayor Alison Clarke denied the decisions were a contradiction. She said the syringe management service was about providing amenity and safety to the public.
"Just as police uniforms and cars are paid for by the state government, so should CCTV, if that's what they want," she said.
Installing the equipment would have cost about $1 million, with $50,000 annually in maintenance costs.
Police argued CCTV would have been effective in identifying drug dealers and users.
The decision is a blow to the Richmond Asian Business Association, which supported the idea. Association president Vinnie Le said he was disappointed by the decision.
"It would have been better for the residents and the people who visit," he said.
The police did not respond to questions about whether they would seek to install CCTV independently of the council. However, Richmond police Acting Inspector Peter Ward said: "We will continue to address the drug trafficking and street crime issues in the area through local intelligence and regular police operations."
Police made the request in April, as a way to support their work in trying to reduce the area's well-known drug problem.
Had the proposal been favoured, the footage would have been directly fed to the Richmond police station to assist in identifying drug dealers and users.
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