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Understanding community safety
The City of Casey is committed to creating a safe and inclusive Casey for all residents regardless of their age, gender, cultural background or profession.
We do this through various programs, grant applications and partnerships with organisations, the Federal and State Government, as well as many community groups.
What you've told us
In 2021, the City of Casey began a five-year research project into our resident’s perceptions of safety. The findings will help us better plan programs, projects, funding and advocacy work that allow our residents to feel safer.
To participate in an annual survey, please check Casey Conversations for updates.
A single page snapshot is provided below and the full document, Exploring Safety in Casey is also available.
What we're doing to make Casey safer
Here's what we're doing to address the various community safety issues that were raised.
Free graffiti removal
The City of Casey provides a free graffiti removal service and aims to remove non-offensive reports of graffiti within three business days and within one day for offensive graffiti.
Neighbourhood Watch Casey
Neighbourhood Watch Casey is a local group of volunteers fostering the idea that community safety is a joint effort, and everyone plays a role.
Meetings are held at 7.00pm on the second Thursday of every month at various locations around Casey. Anyone is welcome to attend to raise safety matters in their area or join the group. In attendance at each meeting are group members, a Victoria Police member and City of Casey representative.
Find out more by following the Neighbourhood Watch Casey Facebook or emailing admin@nhwcasey.com
L2P Learner Driver Mentor Program
The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) L2P Program is a community-based program developed to assist eligible young Victorian learner drivers between the ages of 16 and 21 years (and in some circumstances, up to 23 years) who do not have access to a supervising driver, gain the required 120 hours driving experience required for a probationary license.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
The City of Casey uses CPTED to manage and maintain our open spaces and facilities as well as planning and designing new spaces. Put simply, CPTED uses the physical design of a space to design out crime.
It focuses on good lighting, clear lines of sight, suitable signage as well as clean and clear spaces free of rubbish and graffiti. CPTED helps people move easily, feel safe, navigate, and freely participate in activities in a space. It uses evidence of issues and behaviors to prioritise the need for design interventions.
Visual surveillance devices (CCTV)
The City of Casey recognises that CCTV is a common request in relation to community safety and crime prevention concerns. The use of CCTV across different Councils in Victoria is varied, with some using it extensively and some not at all. There currently is no legislation that requires Council to install CCTV in public spaces.
The City of Casey operates CCTV at some Council buildings and facilities for the purposes of asset protection and staff safety. Council is not responsible for CCTV on private property.
Council does not currently install or operate CCTV in public areas such as parks, playgrounds, reserves, walking paths, carparks or on residential streets and roads.
The following sets out some of the reasons why Council does not install CCTV in public places.
Effectiveness
Whilst many people may believe CCTV is an effective solution to crime prevention, recent research shows us this is actually not the case in most settings[1]. Criminals are simply not deterred by the presence of CCTV cameras, and CCTV alone does little to address crime prevention.
Monitoring
In order for CCTV to be effective at crime prevention, the footage needs to be constantly monitored so that incidents can be identified and actioned immediately. Council does not have the resources to set up a dedicated control room with qualified security staff to operate the control room.
Resources
The resources required to manage a CCTV system and its footage can quickly become unsustainable. CCTV cameras require considerable funding to install and maintain over the long term. Once a CCTV camera is installed, there is often reluctance to have it removed, resulting in ongoing financial commitments to maintain and upgrade equipment as it deteriorates over time.
Privacy
People who use public spaces such as playgrounds, parks and reserves generally expect to not be monitored by Council when doing so. Council has an obligation to protect the privacy of people whose information it collects and not excessively collect personal information through CCTV footage.
Our residents tell us that when it comes to feeling safer in the community, having a strong connection with neighbours is more valued than public CCTV.
Council’s approach
Council uses a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) approach to managing crime and safety concerns in the community. If you have concerns about a particular area, you should contact Council and speak with someone in the Community Safety team who can undertake an on-site assessment. The assessment may recommend works Council can undertake such as improving lighting, upgrading fences or gates, cleaning graffiti, fixing damaged equipment, trimming oversized trees or other measures.
Council also maintains a close relationship with Victoria Police. Reports to Council regarding community safety and crime concerns are raised during regular meetings with Victoria Police liaison officers.
Whilst community safety is a priority for Council, it is important to understand that there are limited steps that Council can take to address some crime and safety issues. In some cases, Council may have exhausted all possible options and be unable to take further measures.
If you have immediate concerns about crime or safety, you should always contact Victoria Police first.
To learn more about what you can do about crime prevention, check out Neighbourhood Watch
Lighting in parks and reserves
Currently, Council does not have a program to provide new lighting within parks and reserves due to the wide number of these spaces and the high capital costs associated with installing new lighting. The provision of lighting within parks and reserves can also encourage longer stays at nighttime and potential anti-social behaviour and in most cases there are existing street lights around the perimeter of this reserve.
Hooning and dangerous driving
The City of Casey works closely with Victoria Police, Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and VicRoads to reduce hoon driving through road safety strategies and other education programs.
Council does not install traffic-calming infrastructure, such as speed cushions, as it does not stop hoons. We also do not undertake enforcement of moving vehicles. Enforcement measures are almost always undertaken by Victoria Police who have highway patrols providing targeting the key drivers of road trauma, including speeding, impaired driving, occupant safety and driver distraction.
Residents who witness or have knowledge of dangerous driving should:
- Make a confidential report to Crime Stoppers online or by calling 1800 333 000
- Call 000 if anyone is in immediate danger
In Victoria, hoon driving and anti-hoon laws under the Road Safety Act 1986.
Road Safety
The City of Casey is committed to improving road safety and does so through infrastructure improvements, facilitation of road safety education and enforcement and by working with other agencies such as Victoria Police, VicRoads, and the State and Federal Government.
Empowering Community Grants
The City of Casey has received an Empowering Communities grant from the Victorian Government as part of the Building Safer Communities Program. This is primarily due to crime rates being above the State average for vehicle and retail theft, aggravated robbery, residential burglary, drug possession, family violence and common assault.
The Grant has enabled the establishment of a community action group, the Casey Action Group, comprised of twelve community leaders. The Action Group will allocate resources to local grassroots initiatives aimed at addressing identified crime prevention and community safety issues across a two year period.
Child safe standards
The City of Casey maintains Child Safe Standards in order to protect children from harm. The Standards were established by the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005.
Reporting crime
- Call 000 (Triple Zero) when an immediate response is required - eg. a crime is happening or someone is in immediate danger.
- Contact Police Assistance Line online or on 131 44 to report non-urgent crime and events anytime, anywhere. This improves their ability to identify high incident areas and use this information to solve current investigations.
- Report graffiti for free and fast removal with Snap Send Solve or by calling Customer Service on 9705 5200.
- Use our report an issue form to notify us of anything else you believe poses a community safety risk
Learn more
Find out about crime prevention measures from Crime Stoppers, Victoria Police, and Neighbourhood Watch.
More detailed information can be found in the Community Safety Strategy and Municipal Public Health & Wellbeing Plan.