Police trial sees crime rate fall around Mandurah pubs and clubs

WA police conducted an entertainment precinct crackdown targeting Mandurah, Fremantle, Joondalup and Leederville on Friday and Saturday nights.

Mandurah, which was subject to a visible police presence every week for 16 weeks saw the greatest reduction of crime.

The experiment was conducted to test the lingering effects of an increased police presence at micro hotspots.

Joondalup had a police presence for one week on and three weeks off.

Leederville and Fremantle had two weeks on and two weeks off.

Fremantle’s strategy resulted in similar crime count reductions to Mandurah during patrol times.

Police found that the visual police presence deterred anti-social behaviour, but the residual effects varied from place to place.