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Conference Papers

Building site crime prevention project in new residential estates

Ken Lee
City of Casey Council, Victoria

Presented at:
Crime Prevention Conference
Hilton Hotel, Sydney
12-13 September 2002

Abstract

The Building Site Crime Prevention Project is an initiative of the City of Casey in conjunction with key industry and community group stakeholders. The pilot project was funded through a Crime Prevention Victoria grant under the Safer Communities Program in July 2001. The impact and associated costs of building site crime, both financial and social, are considerable for the housing industry, insurance companies, individual home owners and the extended community. The problem of crime - both theft and vandalism - is not new to the building industry. Issues of ownership and absence of a co-ordinated program of responses have restricted the ability to introduce effective crime prevention strategies. Initiatives have been undertaken in two pilot localities within the City of Casey and provide some insight into working with private industry, residents' associations and in conjunction with peak bodies such as Victoria Police and the Housing Industry Association to address the issue of building site crime. Strategies implemented by the initiative are discussed, including a community awareness and education campaign, and the paper also reports the findings of an independent evaluation of the initiative, including a survey of site managers, and recommendations arising from the project.