POLICE BLITZ ON CARPARK SECURITY

CITY carparks face a security crackdown amid rising safety
fears.

Police and council officers will blitz dozens of parking stations
after customer and staff complaints about potential crime hazards.

Melbourne's flourishing drug trade has also prompted union pleas for
compulsory video-camera surveillance, emergency panic alarms and
security grilles to protect workers.

Loitering youths and drug addicts, and dim lighting at dozens of the
city's carparks are scaring clients away, industry sources claim.

A major campaign to improve the industry's image will soon be
launched. It follows the September release of design safety guidelines
for carpark operators.

Tough police and council audits will rank parks according to safety
measures such as lighting, video surveillance, intercoms, security
patrols, public telephones, cleanliness and clear traffic signs.

Melbourne police division's Supt Tony Warren said the ratings would be
widely published for drivers in a bid to wipe out danger zones.

Special staff training sessions for safe syringe handling and free
syringe-disposal bins would be included in the plan, he said.

"There is not a crime wave but there is certainly a public perception
that many carparks feel unsafe," Supt Warren said.

"The crime statistics in carparks are relatively low compared with the
streets but it is a problem with perceptions and that is the area we
have to deal with."

Separate crime figures for carparks were unavailable
yesterday.

Several workers told the Herald Sun the drug problem was encroaching
on their work areas.

One staff member said he got the "shock of his life" when an addict
pulled a syringe from an arm and threw it at him him about two months
ago.

The man, 23, also grappled with an armed robber last
year.

But he claims he was sacked late last month for raising safety
concerns with his managers.

The man claimed he was dumped after being falsely accused of
stealing.

Union officials have lodged an unfair dismissal case on his
behalf.

The carpark's management did not return Herald Sun phone
calls.

Many believed problems had eased in recent months with extra police
patrols.

But Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union spokesman
Brian Oates claimed the industry was plagued with poor conditions and
was due for a shake-up.

"Some of these guys are among the most poorly paid in Australia but
are expected to act as pseudo policemen," Mr Oates said.

He claimed Lonsdale, Little Collins, Little Bourke and Bourke streets
were among the biggest safety risks.

A Victorian Parking Industry Association spokesman was unavailable
yesterday.

But Property Council of Australia spokesman Peter Clarke said the
safety standards of inner-city carparks near entertainment strips were
steadily improving and urged other landlords to follow suit.

One in five women said they feared for their personal safety in the
central shopping district in a 1997 council survey.

Go Parking spokesman David Ades said most new carparks had
state-of-the-art security systems.

A RACV report released last year revealed one third of cars were
stolen from carparks.

The CBD was the hot-test car-crime precinct but Victoria had fewer
thefts than other states, the report found.

IN SHORT

Carpark staff have reported they:

* Dodge syringe-strewn areas and addicts in stairwells. * Sit in
unprotected booths or have to turn their backs on customers to collect
money. * Are forced to go to the toilet behind trees or in bottles and
paper bags. * Have confronted drug dealers and seized bags of heroin
or picked up discarded syringes. * Dealt with a loiterer who switched
on fire hydrants and sprayed customers. * Have to fend off abusive
customers and youth gangs demanding toilet keys. * Cut themselves on
broken booth glass.