Image: File photo.
Camera IconImage: File photo. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Call for station to open all hours

Sarah Motherwell, Southern GazetteSouthern Gazette

This month, he sent a petition to residents in Belmont and surrounding suburbs to campaign for the State Government to change the station’s opening hours.

The station is currently open to the public from 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, but police operate out of the premises at all hours and patrol the local suburbs at night.

Mr Bissett said while policing was a state issue, he was ‘a little bit miffed’ the Barnett Government had neglected the issue of opening the station at all hours when it was an issue for so many people in the community.

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‘Crime doesn’t happen between nine and five only; it happens after hours,’ Mr Bissett said.

‘Belmont is a pretty good place to live but on the fringe there are some areas that do need policing.’

Earlier this year, City of Belmont Mayor Phil Marks said on radio that the Belmont station should be open 24/7 because the Canning police station dealt with most crime in Belmont, but poor response times were affecting the public’s opinion of the area.

‘In the interests of providing a safe city for our community, it is necessary for local police to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to and deal with local issues,’ Cr Marks told Southern Gazette last week.

Belmont MLA Glenys Godfrey responded: ‘If Mr Bissett claims to be concerned about the State Government decision, then why has he failed to speak with either the Minister for Police, or myself, the local State member, who is already working in partnership with the local police?’

Swan MHR Steve Irons said: ‘I will always do as much as I can at a federal level to boost community safety.’