Fitzroy Crossing’s top cop calls for blanket CCTV rollout to stamp out crime wave

CCTV should be installed on every street corner in Fitzroy Crossing, the town’s top cop says, in a move which would help police deal with mounting issues in the tiny crime-plagued town. Fitzroy Crossing officer-in-charge Sen. Sgt Larry Miller said the 15-officer police station was not equipped to deal with the volume of incidents in the town. “We only have one van and a lot of the time we’re out helping surrounding communities,” he said. “The fact is, we really don’t have the resources to cope with everything — we’re doing our best — but we can’t have officers everywhere.” Sen. Sgt Miller said the recent installation of a camera outside the Fitzroy IGA — the seventh the Shire has installed around town — had helped police with incidents in the area. “Every camera is essentially an extra officer — we can monitor things in real time — it’s the future and I think a camera on every street corner is what is needed here,” he said. His calls were echoed by Shire of Derby-West Kimberley president Geoff Haerewa, who said the Shire had exhausted the available funding and called for more support from business and government. “The Shire of Derby-West Kimberley is not a rich shire,” he said. “We’re doing what we can, but I would really like to see both State and Federal governments provide more money for CCTV in all West Kimberley towns. “We also have countless Aboriginal organisations and other corporations which I believe should contribute to funding these.” Kimberley MLA Divina D’Anna said she had heard Sen. Sgt Miller’s calls for the cameras and would see what she could do to get more funding.