Photo © 2002 AAP One/Photofusion/Ray Roberts
A security camera will soon be installed in a section of Kings Cross where an 18-year-old man was fatally king-hit, despite the NSW government having turned down a funding request for the scheme.
The closed-circuit TV (CCTV) camera was one of six approved by the City of Sydney council in March following police requests for better quality footage of the area, News Limited reports.
Jodie Minus, a spokeswoman for Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, said the council hoped to have the six cameras installed next month after the state government rejected a request for $500,000 to fund the program.
"Over the last 10 years the City of Sydney has stepped in to ensure cameras were installed to support police, after a lack of funding by the state," she said in a statement on Thursday.
The council will fund the program to bring the total number of cameras in Kings Cross to nine, Ms Minus said.
Thomas Kelly died after being punched in the face by a stranger on Saturday night as he walked along Victoria Street in Kings Cross with his new girlfriend.
His family, from the NSW Southern Highlands town of Bowral, made the decision on Monday to switch off his life support.
Police Association of NSW president Scott Weber said the tragedy highlighted the need for council action.
"What we would like is for the CCTV cameras to be put in straight away and proper funding given to it," he told Macquarie Radio.
"If the police highlight this as an issue, it should be rectified straight away."
While critics say increased levels of CCTV threaten privacy, police support increased levels of surveillance in problem areas as a deterrent and for assistance in solving crime.
With AAP
Brought to you by 
