Wyndham Council has for the first time publicly released data on its hotly debated Truganina private security trial.
The $372,000 rate-payer funded trial commenced on 10 November.
Despite MA Services, the company originally contracted to deliver the pilot program going into administration last month, the trial will continue with two marked cars patrolling nightly from 10pm-6am until 10 April.
According to council, the patrol guards logged 478 incidents across 45 nights up to 12 January.
Most activity has involved passive deterrence, including advising residents when garage doors had been left open, or cars had been left running.
Other activity included welfare checks and reporting suspicious vehicles or suspicious activities.
Mayor Josh Gilligan said he believed the trial was delivering practical outcomes and deterring crime.
“The first quarter results from our Truganina security patrol trial are better than first thought and are clearly working to deliver a safer Truganina and community confidence in local community safety solutions,” Cr Gilligan said,.
“The security patrol pilot, ending in April this year, gives us clear evidence that a small amount of funding towards local neighbourhood solutions can drive crime prevention in our newer estates.
“The door remains open for a post-trial neighbourhood patrol model delivered through body corporates to assist other parts of our city with the crime crisis.“
Cr Gilligan said the trial is helping council better understand crime trends, but is not a substitute for Victoria Police.
“It is helping council better understand where issues are occurring and what patterns are emerging – information we simply wouldn’t have had in the same way without this program.
“Importantly, this is not a substitute for the police. Patrols do not have enforcement powers, their role is to observe and report, and to escalate to emergency services when needed.
“The trial has also helped identify early hotspot themes and patterns that council and our police liaison can be used to sharpen prevention messaging and broader community safety responses.
“The early results show the program is working even better than intended.
“We’ll use these insights to focus on targeted prevention and practical measures that make a real difference for residents.”
