Police, Stonnington Council plan more mobile CCTV monitoring to ensure social distancing in parks
If you’re thinking of using your one hour of exercise a day at a certain inner east park, chances ae you going to be on camera as authorities watch for any coronavirus breaches.
Inner East
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Park visitors in Melbourne’s inner east will continue to be monitored on mobile CCTV to ensure they comply with coronavirus rules as the weather heats up.
Stonnington Council deployed a CTV trailer to Prahran’s Victoria Gardens on the weekend of September 5 and 6 following a police request.
Prahran’s Denzil Griffiths spotted the trailer on a walk and suspected it of being used to “spy on residents” and its deployment as “bloody outrageous”.
The council received a $100,000 federal government grant for the trailer in 2017 and is responsible for maintaining it and moving it to locations around Stonnington when asked by police.
Council spokesman Jim Carden confirmed the trailer was “likely” to be used over the coming months in other open spaces in the municipality, but it didn’t have a shortlist of locations.
It has been previously used in Malvern Gardens and outside a large supermarket somewhere in Stonnington during panic buying.
“The camera plays a helpful role in assuring people that we are monitoring the use of our open space so all can enjoy it safely and fairly,” Mr Carden said.
“It was originally intended to focus on crime prevention and detection, but obviously it has uses for us to help ensure people are doing the right thing during the relevant stages of lockdown.”
Readers on Stonnington Leader’s Facebook page reacted angrily to the use of the CCTV to spy on people.
Lynne Wilson, who regularly walks in Victoria Gardens, said it made her feel “uncomfortable”.
“No one likes feeling like they are being watched or filmed,” she wrote.
“I stick to all the rules yet still feel like I am a criminal. It’s just too much. Get rid of it.”
Ilja Sidoti said the council and police should focus more on graffiti crimes, while Pat Atkinson wrote: “As if we aren’t enduring enough”.
Victoria Police spokesman Sam Bidey confirmed it had liaised with “a number” of councils over the use of council-owned CCTV units in public spaces.
He declined to say where and when they are positioned for operational reasons.
“The cameras can help to capture and deter breaches of Chief Health Officer directions as well as other crimes and community safety issues,” he said.
“If you choose to blatantly and deliberately breach the directions of the Chief Health Officer, you will receive an infringement notice.”
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