Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday of $2 million to match Auckland Council’s existing programmes to prevent local crime.

The Prime Minister announced Auckland would get $2 million of the $4 million nationally to support Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) measures such as street lighting, CCTV cameras and planters.

“Here at the front line, Auckland Council, our council-controlled organisations, our Local Boards, and especially local business associations under our Business Improvement District (BID) programme invested around $7 million on these sorts of programmes last year,” Mayor Brown said.

“Every extra bit helps, and I thanked the Prime Minister for making these new funds available when she called me yesterday.”

The Mayor said the $2 million would best be distributed through Auckland’s BIDS, prorated against their current investments on CPTED initiatives.

“Those business associations which have already identified crime prevention as a priority in their districts and invested their existing funds accordingly should have first dibs on the extra funds the Prime Minister announced yesterday,” he said.

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