City of Wanneroo ramps up security for council meetings

SECURITY measures at City of Wanneroo council meetings and briefing sessions have increased.

Chief executive Daniel Simms said community safety was of “paramount importance” and the City wanted people who attended meetings to “feel safe and welcome”.

“The City introduced additional security measures at meetings to ensure the safety of the public, elected members and staff in the event of a risk or threat,” Mr Simms said.

“This decision was based on an assessment of the City’s preparedness to deal with a potential incident at council meetings. The security presence is designed to be as unobtrusive as possible.

“The City will continue to review and assess security and risks at meetings and other events and implement improvements where considered appropriate and necessary.”

Changes have included hiring private security guards to be present during meetings rather than City rangers, and issuing ‘conditions of entry’ to people attending. The conditions say the City has the right to refuse entry to council chambers to anyone not complying.

Attendees can also be required to present bags or parcels for inspection and give consent for the use of a metal detector wand to identify any “concealed undesirable items”.

The City did not say why police were at the June 28 council meeting.