Opponents of private security guard patrols in central Footscray will take to the streets this weekend demanding the six month trial not be extended once it concludes in January.
The Footscray Belongs to Everyone Speakout will take place Saturday 15 November in the Nicholson Street Mall, where many of the patrols by private security guards and local law officers have taken place since the trial began at the start of September.
Organisers of the speakout event, Footscray Community Response, argued the security guard trial is an overreaction to a crime problem in the Footscray CBD that had been overblown.
“Despite some of the rhetoric, it is not even in the top 10 Melbourne communities for crime,” the organisation said in a social media post announcing Saturday’s protest.
“It remains a relatively safe and vibrant place to live.”
Footscray Community Response spokesperson and former Maribyrnong councillor Jorge Jorquera said using security guards to deal with people experiencing homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness was the wrong approach.
“We are in a housing and cost of living crisis and many residents are struggling. Footscray needs public housing and social services not publicly funded private security guards.”
Maribyrnong mayor Pradeep Tiwari defended the security guard trial, saying all the traders he’d spoken to had welcomed it.
Cr Tiwari also took to social media to highlight the installation of new CCTV cameras in the Footscray CBD and increased cooperation between council and police.
“A new server is up and running, and 55 high-definition cameras are being installed across key locations identified together with Victoria Police at both the local station and headquarters. The full rollout is on track to be completed by the end of November,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
“We’re also strengthening our partnership with Victoria Police through a new Memorandum of Understanding that’s now being finalised, ensuring strong governance and clear protocols around CCTV access.
“Daily police patrols have been reinstated, and the Proactive Policing Unit will soon be hosting workshops for traders on when to call police and when to use Crime Stoppers.”
