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Holiday school security goes 24 hours

A new 24-hour guard service has been patrolling State Schools on the Peninsula during the school holidays.

This is the first time that a dedicated security service has been utilised for schools in the area and its primary job is to patrol education facilities.

"This new dedicated security service will mean that schools on the Central Coast will be better protected during the holiday period," according to Member for Peats, Ms Marie Andrews.

"It will mean a quicker response to suspicious activity and people who damage our schools will face severe penalties including up to 14 years' jail," she said.

The new service is in addition to random patrols by local security companies.

A trial of the dedicated security service by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training in September last year reduced the number and cost of incidents of vandalism occurring in Slate schools.

In addition to the security patrols around schools, Ms Andrews asked local residents to be vigilant and immediately report suspicious activity at schools to police or the School Security Unit on 1800 809 604.

The dedicated security service now also covered nine other school districts: Bankstown, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Homsby, Liverpool, Mt Druitt, Penrith, Shellharbour and Wollongong.

The cost of the pilot service being extended to the Christmas school holidays was $630,000.

The patrol cars used by the dedicated security service were coordinated through a central monitoring station using a two-way radio system, said Ms Andrews.

If alanns occur, the dedicated mobile service could get to a school quickly, with or without local security companies.

The dedicated 24-hour patrols were still being trialled by the Department of Education and Training, she said.

"They are one of a number of strategies being investigated by the School Security Unit."

Press release, January 4