Crime Prevention Plan 2019-2023

The City of Parramatta received 113 formal responses via its engagement portal and three email submissions. We thank everyone for their contributions.

The majority of the actions identified in the plan were well received by the community.

Over half of respondents (60 people or 53.6%) gave the priority areas a ‘4’ or ‘5’ out of 5, rating the priority areas either ‘good’ or ‘great’.

There was strong support for Council to facilitate high visibility policing within the LGA, and for crime prevention through environmental design principles to be incorporated into public domain and building programs. Similarly, improving lighting and extending CCTV coverage of public spaces were seen by the community as priority actions.

Parramatta’s Crime Profile provides an overview of current and emerging crime and safety trends in the LGA. The profile was informed by consultation with the five Police Area Commands who have jurisdiction within our LGA and review of BOCSAR (Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research). While there is generally a low level of crime in our community, there is always a need to remain vigilant and develop preventative measures against emerging trends and areas of concern.

Parramatta’s Crime Profile indicates that most crimes are either decreasing or have remained stable over the past five years. Crimes such as break and enter, motor vehicle theft and steal from dwelling are decreasing. Assault, domestic violence and sexual offences remain stable.

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a crime prevention strategy that focuses on the planning, design and structure of cities and neighbourhoods to reduce opportunities for crime to take place by creating an environment and social conditions which actively discourage crime.

Predatory offenders often make cost versus benefit assessments of potential victims and locations before committing crime. CPTED aims to create the reality (or perception) that the costs of committing the crime are greater than the likely benefits. This is achieved by creating environmental and social conditions that:

• Maximise risk to offenders (increasing the likelihood of detection, challenge and apprehension by police)
• Maximise the effort required to commit crime (increasing the time, energy and resources required to commit crime)
• Reduce or remove factors which could support inappropriate behaviour, make offending appear rewarding, or contribute to offenders being able to benefit from crime.

The five Police Area Commands that look after the various parts of the Local Government Area (LGA) were consulted and crime statistics were obtained from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) to develop an understanding of the crime issues affecting the City of Parramatta.

A review of Council research was generated and community consultation was undertaken. This has ensured that the Plan is aligned with actual trends in the Local Government Area, previous research has been built upon, and community feedback has been incorporated.

Your feedback has helped Council shape priority areas and prioritise actions. This will affect how crime prevention and safety measures are planned for and implemented across the LGA over a five-year timeline.

Research and consultation has revealed that vulnerable groups respond to crime in different ways and have diverse needs and experiences around crime and safety.

Strategic actions in the plan aim to address the needs of vulnerable community members including women, young people, people living with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness and social housing tenants. Some of the actions specifically targeted to these groups include an ongoing commitment to domestic and family violence prevention and support, engaging youth workers to support young people in the CBD and conducting community safety audits to address the needs of diverse groups including women, young people, people experiencing homelessness and people living with disabilities. A complete list of strategic actions can be found in the FULL Plan.

Council recognises that specific actions are required to address concerns around safety at night. The Plan includes initiatives which address these concerns including increasing and upgrading Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in response to crime trends, improving lighting in key public spaces and reviewing alcohol-free zones to evaluate their effectiveness. These actions and others directed at improving night time safety can be viewed in the FULL Plan.

The strategy will be implemented in collaboration with partners and the community over a five-year period.

For more information about this project, please contact the project team at crimeprevention@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au or call (02) 9806 5050.