Moves afoot to curb violence

CLOSED circuit surveillance cameras and the dressing-down of a local park are strategies the City of Greater Dandenong hopes will curb violence in Noble Park.
Council representatives met with police and Noble Park petitioners on Friday to discuss the concerns of traders in the suburb’s shopping precinct.
The meeting lead petition signatory David Szwider and two other business representatives to identify several immediate opportunities for the council and police to take action on in Noble Park.
Noble Park Ward councillor Pinar Yesil said the council was already looking at several initiatives raised during the meeting such as altering Copas Park to look less attractive for night-time gatherings, applying for funding for surveillance cameras, contacting the owner of a derelict house at Mons Parade to discuss the future of the site, delivering a program where youth workers can engage with young people, residents and businesses, rapid response to racist graffiti and clearing the area at the southern edge of Mons Parade, adjacent to the railway reserve, of overgrown vegetation.