Businesses in Guildford town centre call for CCTV cameras to deter crime
Guildford businesses call for CCTV cameras as junkies, thieves and thugs drive away customers.
Parramatta
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Junkies, drunks, thieves and thugs are driving away customers along the Guildford Rd strip, business owners claim.
They say the shopping strip has become a hotbed for robbers and drug takers, which barber shop owner Montaz Khabbaz says is scaring away customers.
“They come from the station,” Mr Khabbaz said.
“They hang around the front of the shop and nobody wants to come in — they scare away customers.”
Mr Khabbaz has owned MK Barber, on the corner of Guildford Rd and Railway Tce, for three years.
“They sit right here at the front of my shop. They are junkies and we don’t have our own cameras to catch them and to scare them away,” he said.
Sue Hawat, owner of clothes store Glamourize, echoed Mr Khabbaz’s concerns.
“I don’t feel safe here anymore. I’ve been here for nine years and in the last two weeks, I’ve been robbed twice,” she said.
Ms Hawat said she once chased a thief who had stolen her wallet from behind the counter in the store.
“They always run to the station,” she said.
“No matter what they steal, they run to the station, and how are we going to catch them or prove they’ve stolen anything?”
Ms Hawat said she recently saw a woman walking down a nearby alleyway at noon when she was attacked and had her handbag stolen.
You can’t even walk around when the sun’s out. I used to park behind that alley but now I park right in front of the store — and if I get a ticket it’s better than having my whole bag stolen,” she said.
Ms Hawat said many businesses had decided “enough was enough” and sold their stores, leaving the shopfronts abandoned.
“I think about selling this place all the time. I put the place up for sale but no one wants to buy here — not with the reputation it has,” she said.
“You look down the street and it’s nothing like it used to be. Everyone is leaving because it’s too much.”
Cumberland Liberal councillor Tom Zreika hoped installing CCTV cameras at 10 spots on the strip would deter would-be thieves.
“Guildford was the forgotten cousin when it was part of the Holroyd Council,” Cr Zreika said.
“It has been neglected and businesses have been leaving. If we can install a mechanical device that deters criminals and means that police have more evidence, it’s in the best interests of the suburb.”
Cr Zreika has put forward a motion to install CCTV in Guildford and Granville CBDs, similar to the cameras installed in Auburn and Parramatta, in the hope of bringing business and community safety back to both areas. “Re-establishing the lapsed alcohol-free limits and installing the cameras is the deterrent the criminals need and what the businesses here need,” he said.
The Rosehill Local Area Command is working with the council to complete a safety audit of the area but crime manager detective Inspector Glen Parks said the area had not recorded an increase in violent crimes.
“Nothing in our data reflects an increase in crime in the area,” Insp Parks said.
“We support and encourage CCTV cameras in (the) CBD but to say it will deter crime is not something that we’ve found.
“It certainly helps in the investigation process.”
Insp Parks said police were unaware of the business owners’ concerns.
A report on crime hot spots in the Cumberland local government area will be tabled at council early next year.
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