By Annette Shailer
The City of Melbourne is to hold a City Safety Summit to discuss initiatives to combat street crime, violence and drunken behaviour at Melbourne Town Hall this Friday (October 3).
The Summit will provide lively discussion featuring key decision makers like the Premier John Brumby, the Nightclub Owners Forum, Liquor Licensing Victoria, members of the security industry, and emergency and community services.
Melbourne Lord Mayor, John So, has shown his support for the summit, which coincides with a review on the results of a largely unpopular 2:00am trial lockout.
“We considered that it was imperative to bring together a range of people and organisations who can influence decision making, implement change and work toward positive resolutions, and this is why the City of Melbourne has taken the significant step of facilitating the City Safety Summit,” Cr So said.
Security consultant David Hedgcock is appealing for an invitation to the summit after recently touring Melbourne’s streets with a video camera to gain footage of taxi drivers selecting preferred fares and to show a lack of police presence.
“Taxi drivers deliberately avoid taxi ranks and trawl up and down the streets, selectively choosing a fare that suits them, leaving many angry and frustrated people stranded in the street. It makes these people, particularly young women, more vulnerable to harassment and assault,” he said.
“We need more police to be proactive by having a clearly visible police presence on the street. This can have a calming and preventative effect.”
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