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Red Cliffs vandalism call to action

Posted on February 10, 2012

By BEN PISCIONERI

ONGOING acts of vandalism in Red Cliffs in recent months have reignited residents’ calls for action to improve security in the town.

WAITING: Levers of Red Cliffs store owner, Coralee Lever, said closed circuit television cameras throughout the Red Cliffs CBD will hopefully cut down on the amount of vandalism in Red Cliffs.

Vandalism has been an ongoing issue in Red Cliffs over the past two years with shop front windows repeatedly broken.

The most recent incident occurred at an Indi Avenue business about three weeks ago, when rocks were thrown through the front window of the business, however there have been other similar incidents over the past three months.

At its peak last year, the issue attracted a second visit to the town in about 12 months by Victorian Police Minister Peter Ryan, who highlighted the availability of grants of up to a quarter of a million dollars in Public Safety Infrastructure funding to improve security.

Residents and shop owners have been calling for closed circuit television cameras in the town to act as both a deterrent and to help catch offenders.

Mr Ryan visited one of the victims at the time, Coralee Lever, owner of Levers of Red Cliffs, where he made the funding commitment.

He said the funds were available, but it was up to Mildura Rural City Council to apply for the money.

Residents say they’ve heard little since, despite Mrs Lever being in regular contact with Mr Ryan over the issue.

She said this week business owners had done as much as they could to protect themselves and were now reliant on Council to apply for funding to improve security in the town.

“We feel as though we do all the hard yards to get Peter Ryan here – we’ve had him here twice and he still keeps in contact – but it’s up to the Council now,” she said.

Council this week confirmed it had applied for the full $250,000 in Public Safety Infrastructure funding late last year, which would be split between Red Cliffs and Mildura.

“We’re seeking $120,000 to install a network of closed circuit television cameras in the Red Cliffs CBD, which would help improve public safety and reduce crime rates in the area,” Council’s manager for Community, Martin Hawson, said this week.

“A second grant application for $130,000 is to install additional cameras in the Mildura CCTV network and undertake other associated safety and crime prevention initiatives.”

Mr Hawson said grant applications closed in October last year. He said Council was still awaiting a response on its grant application and hadn’t been given a time line.

Mrs Lever said repeated acts of vandalism were costing business owners money, even if they were insured.

Her business has been hit three times by vandals. At one point she had her front window broken twice within eight weeks.

“It costs about $1600 to replace a window each time that happens,” Mrs Lever said.

“The cost has been tremendous because you never make up what you lose. You never get it all back.

“Okay you have insurance, but then your premiums go up and then there’s stock loss as well.”

She estimates broken windows over the past 18 months would have cost her business $8000.

Mrs Lever said the problem has become so common she has only had very basic signage painted on her front window, instead of the more elaborate signage she previously displayed to attract customers.

She said she doesn’t want to invest heavily in replacement sign-writing in case her front window is broken again.

Mrs Lever said she has done everything she could do to increase security, including internal cameras, and alarms. But she said she’ll stop short of putting bars on her front window.

“It shouldn’t get to the point where you need to bar up your windows,” she said.

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