Liberal leader Zak Kirkup joined Liberal candidate for Bunbury Matt Foreman in the City of Bunbury today to announce a strong commitment to dealing with drug-related crime and anti-social behaviour in the city.
“As part of our commitment to ensuring all Western Australians can enjoy a safer, smarter today and a better, brighter tomorrow, the Liberals have committed to boosting law enforcement in Bunbury to tackle local crime,” Liberal leader Zak Kirkup said.
“Residents are telling us they’ve had enough of the antisocial behaviour, hoon drivers and drug-related crime that is afflicting their community. We believe they deserve better and are committed to making a real difference by increasing police resources.
“The Liberals will establish a WA Police Hoon Response Group with 20 hoon cameras, which will be deployed to trouble spots, including the City of Bunbury, to deal with hoon drivers.
At an announcement at Glen Iris today, the Liberals also committed $5 million to be made available to local governments to establish a CCTV network that will help identify and catch criminals in trouble-spots.
Mr Kirkup said the Bunbury district was unbelievably 16 police officers below its operational capacity of 56 officers, or almost 30 per cent under the required police strength.
“WA Labor has neglected rural and regional WA and this is a clear example,” he said.
“In addition to the dedicated, specialist anti-hoon resources, the Liberals will ensure that Bunbury has the full 56 police officers it needs and deserves.”
Liberal candidate for Bunbury Matt Foreman said that the additional police officers and covert hoon cameras would make a real difference to the local community.
“When I am out door-knocking, the local community tells me how angry and frustrated they are with hoon behaviour and crime,” Mr Foreman said.
“We will work with the City of Bunbury with a view to establishing fixed CCTV cameras on the roads in and out of key trouble-spots to deter criminal elements from entering the area and help create a safer, more secure Bunbury.”