IN the past few months, I’ve had more conversations with business owners that start with “we love Fremantle, but…” and that “but” is where the real story sits.
Fremantle has never had a personality problem. What it has right now is a fundamentals problem.
I spend a lot of time working alongside businesses of all sizes, hearing firsthand what’s working, what’s not and where the real pressure points are.
Right now, one issue rises above the rest.
Community safety.
This week, we brought businesses together with the City of Fremantle Community Safety team, WA Police, the state government and key stakeholders for a very real conversation.
Not a glossy update. Not a talkfest. A practical look at what’s actually happening on our streets and what solutions we might have.
• Forum participants: Fremantle MLA Simone McGurk, Chamber CEO Chrissie Maus, Chamber president Ivan Dzeba, City of Fremantle CEO Glen Dougall, superintendent Dean Snashall and the City’s community safety team boss Jarrad Duggan.
And here’s the truth.
Community safety is not owned by one agency.
It is a shared responsibility and when it works well, it’s because the system is working together.
“It’s a delicate balance,” said Matt Hammond, director of City Business.
What became clear in the City’s presentation is that many businesses don’t fully understand the role of Community Safety Officers and that gap matters.
These officers are not police.
They don’t have powers of arrest and they cannot physically remove people.
But they are on the ground every day, walking and cycling through our city centre, managing the issues that sit just below the criminal threshold.
They deal with the “in-between” layer.
The safe removal of syringes. The litter, the illegal camping, the nuisance behaviour that chips away at the feeling of safety. Dogs and cat issues also all fall under the community safety team.
And that layer matters more than we often acknowledge.
Because business confidence doesn’t disappear overnight. It erodes slowly.
One incident. One uncomfortable interaction. One decision by a customer not to come back.
Community Safety Officers manage compliance and education.
WA Police respond to criminal activity.
And increasingly, the two are working side by side.
The City operates one of the largest local government CCTV networks in Western Australia, with more than 200 cameras monitored almost around the clock and directly accessible by WA Police.
That is not a small investment. That is serious infrastructure designed to detect, deter and document crime.
Overall, the sentiment in the room was unmistakably clear.
We must execute the fundamentals exceptionally well.
Cleaner streets. Better lighting. Safe, seamless, walkable footpaths.
Consistent activations that keep our Port City alive, not just on weekends but right across the week.
These are not cosmetic upgrades. They are economic infrastructure.
They determine whether people stay longer, spend more and choose to return.
They shape perception as much as reality.
Because in a city, how safe a place feels is just as powerful as how safe it actually is.
And while these may be the symptoms rather than the root cause, improving them is exactly how we start to move the dial.
Fremantle already has what most cities are trying to manufacture. Authenticity. Heritage. A sense of place that is impossible to replicate.
What we need now is consistency in execution.
The City has signalled a renewed focus through its draft Community Safety Plan around crime prevention.
That is a step in the right direction. But strategy alone doesn’t change a city. Delivery does.
What I am encouraged by is that, for the first time in 12 months, we had all the right people in the same room.
The City, police, business and community voices aligned around the same goal.
Simone McGurk MLA has been driving this session hard and championing its importance and I thank her for working alongside me on this, because real progress only happens when leadership leans in and gets things moving.
That is where progress starts.
Not in silos. Not in reports.
In rooms where people are prepared to listen, challenge and act.
Fremantle is a city that leads. It always has been.
But leadership is not about big statements. It is about getting the fundamentals right, every single day.
If we do that, if we commit to the basics and work together across every level, we don’t just improve safety.
We unlock confidence. We drive investment. And we give people a reason to choose Fremantle again and again.
by CHRISSIE MAUS
CEO Fremantle Chamber
of Commerce