The City of Canning is hoping to reduce crime within the city over the next five years after it recently adopted its crime prevention plan.
The plan calls for increased community effort to prevent crime from residents, businesses, police and the city.
Crime incidents have generally increased over the past five years within the city of Canning with theft the biggest crime at 4616 incidents in 2015.
Sexual assaults have seen some of the highest growth in reported incidents since 2011 with an average annual growth of 18.6 per cent, recording 95 incidents in 2015.
Graffiti experienced the biggest drop since 2011 with an 18 per cent drop to 55 incidents in 2015.
Some of the goals included expanding the city’s property marking program, looking at developing a crime prevention kit for local businesses and coordinating responses to crime hotspots by regular intelligence sharing with police.
It also recommended developing a security incentive scheme to encourage local residents and businesses to improve their security and growing the Neighbourhood Watch program.
Canning deputy mayor Lindsay Holland said consultation and perception surveys showed safety was a priority in the city.
“The city plans to increase the availability of online community safety information to better engage its culturally and linguistically diverse communities through providing a number of multi lingual resources,” he said.
“A series of community safety workshops will also be held, targeting aged care facilities and the wider community where representatives from the ranger and community safety services, safe communities team and emergency management.
“Local police will speak to participants about local concerns, issues and provide opportunity for questions and answers to be heard.
“There will also be community fire preparedness information sessions to assist residents in preparing for the upcoming fire season, regular hotspot and holiday watch patrols in addition to increased street lighting, maintenance programs and graffiti removal.”
He also said the strategy and actions in the plan will be carried out in close consultation with the WA Police and other key stakeholders to compliment activities and events, targeting priority areas and communities.
