City of Melville. Click to make a call our toll free number. Search

Community Safety Service (CSS)

This page gives an overview of what the Community Safety Service (CSS) does, the services we offer and how you can request a service. Scroll down to see our latest reporting on goals, objectives and measures of success.

Important Contact Numbers

In an emergency always call 000.

For non-life threatening situations when police assistance is required, call the WA Police Force on 131 444. More information on when to call 000 and when to call 131 444, is available on the WA Police Force website.

To anonymously report suspicious behaviour and crime, contact Crime Stoppers WA on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestopperswa.com.au

For CSS attendance to observe, monitor and report suspicious activity to the police, call 1300 653 643.

About the CSS

The CSS is a 24/7 mobile patrol service that acts as extra eyes and ears for local police and the community. We help keep our community safe and secure through high visibility patrols, where we observe, monitor and report suspicious behaviour and information to the WA Police Force.

The CSS has operated in the City of Melville for more than 25 years and is funded through the Property Surveillance and Security Fee. In addition to the suite of safety services we provide to ratepayers, we also detect and report graffiti, vandalism and abandoned vehicles, and assist the State Emergency Service during storms.

How We Help

We offer a number of services to ratepayers to help keep our community safe and secure.

Holiday Watch Patrols

Going on holiday? Register your property with CSS and we will regularly patrol your property during the day and night while you’re away, for no extra cost.

Request Holiday Watch Patrol

Extra Patrols on Request

If you have been the victim of a crime or would like peace of mind that someone is keeping an eye on your street or business, call us on 1300 653 643 to request extra patrols.

Advice and Information

Our CSS Team Leader is available 24/7 on 1300 653 643 to answer your community safety or crime prevention questions.

Monitoring and Recording Incidents

If you see something suspicious and have already called police, CSS can attend to observe and monitor the activity and pass on relevant information to assist police. Our CSS officers wear body cameras and our vehicles are equipped with CCTV.

Calling Cards and Reporting

Our CSS officers will leave calling cards if they have attended or noticed a residential alarm or security-related concern on your property. A calling card is also left after the last patrol of your property if you have registered for a Holiday Watch Patrol. If you receive a calling card and would like more information, contact the CSS on 1300 653 643 and quote the CSS Report Code.

CSS Services for Businesses

Visit our Business Hub to find out how CSS improves safety at local businesses.

When to Call the CSS

CSS is not a substitute for the police; they are essentially extra eyes for police and work very closely with the Murdoch and Palmyra Police Stations. Some examples when you could call CSS include:

  • If you have been a victim of crime and you would like to request extra patrols.
  • To request a holiday watch patrol of your property while you are away.
  • If you see something suspicious and you have already called police. CSS can attend, observe and monitor the activity and pass on relevant information to assist police.
  • If you want advice about safety or crime prevention. CSS are a 24/7 service with someone available to answer your safety or crime prevention questions.

COVID-19 Guidelines and Directions

If you have concerns that an individual or business is not complying with current State Government health guidelines, please call the WA Police Force on 131 444. Only the Police have the power to enforce and issue on-the-spot fines. For more information, visit the WA state government website.

Working Together with the WA Police

The CSS works closely with local police at both the Murdoch and Palmyra Police Stations. Our officers have daily conversations with police to discuss and share information about community safety or crime concerns and hot spot areas. We use information from police to direct CSS patrols and resources to hot spot areas, as well as to raise awareness of crime trends through social media.

CSS services to support police include:

  • Hotspot patrols of areas identified by police. Our CSS officers spend 10 to 15 minutes per patrol in these areas to keep an eye out for specific information that has been passed onto us from police
  • Deployment of the City’s CCTV Mobile Trailer to areas identified by police
  • Provision of footage from body worn cameras and vehicle CCTV to assist in investigations

CSS Officers

Our CSS officers are all qualified security officers with a qualification of Certificate II in Security Operations. In addition, all our CSS officers:

  • Possess a security license;
  • Have their Senior First Aid Certificate;
  • Are trained in Designing Out Crime principles;
  • Have a valid police clearance on employment, with the validity reviewed every 12 months; and
  • Receive level 2 and 3 internal customer service training.

Body Worn Cameras

All of our CSS officers and rangers wear body cameras when they are out and about in the local community. The cameras support officer safety, and are also used to capture evidence for police while on patrol. Footage from the body worn cameras also assists with investigations of CSS incidents. The cameras have a front facing screen so if you are speaking to one of our officers you can see what is being recorded. For more information about video surveillance in the City of Melville visit our CCTV page.

Paperless Patrol Service

Our CSS officers are completely paperless while out on patrol. Each officer is able to access all of the City’s systems via a tablet device. They are required to capture notes and information for police; generate maintenance reports; review and update Holiday Watch Patrol information; access information to contact customers; and much more on these devices during their shift. If you see our officers parked up in their vehicles using a tablet device – rest assured that they are not watching movies or on YouTube – they are in fact doing a very important part of their job.

CSS Vehicles

We have a fleet of Toyota Camry Hybrid vehicles which are City of Melville branded and have the CSS phone number clearly visible. The artwork by Melissa Spillman represents the local Swan River (Derbarl Yerrigan), the place of fresh water turtles – a very important source of nutritional food and medicine for the Noongar people.

The vehicles have external cameras to capture a 360 degree view from around the vehicle, and are also fitted and monitored with live tracking GPS for safety. On average our response time to a call is under 10 minutes.  For more information about video surveillance in the City of Melville visit our CCTV page.

CSS Statistics 

Our CSS Goals and Objectives document explains how the CSS contributes to our broader goals, and how we measure the success of our efforts.

You can see the latest statistics showing CSS patrols and attendances below. You can also access reported crime statistics for your suburb on the WA Police Force crime statistics portal.

Please note:

  1. To select the date range use the date slicer on the top right hand corner of the dashboard.  Move the top slicer to the left and then the bottom slicer to the right. Or input specific dates directly into the date boxes.
  2. This data is updated weekly on Tuesdays.  As a result you can select a date up to the most recent Monday.
  3. Click or tap on any of the numbers to see a trend graph of the six months before the last date selected.
  4. Data on number of patrols conducted shows month to date data regardless of the length of period selected.
  5. If you have any feedback on the usability of this tool please click ‘was this page helpful?’ on the bottom of the webpage and tell us your thoughts.

Social Media Share this pageLinks below open in a new window

Social Media Share this pageLinks below open in a new window