ACT Public Safety Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) Network Annual Report 2022-23

Minister's Foreword

I am pleased to present the Public Safety CCTV Network Annual Report 2022-23.

Public Safety CCTV Network Utilisation

In 2001, the ACT Government established the Public Safety CCTV Network (CCTV Network). The CCTV Network is managed by the JACS Security and Emergency Management Division (SEMD) and consists of approximately 100 cameras across multiple public open spaces and venues across the ACT.

Data on CCTV network utilisation is maintained by the Transport Canberra and City Services directorate and ACT Policing. Table A illustrates how the technology consistently supports policing activities. In the reporting period, there was a significant reported increase in ACT Policing dispatches related to monitoring of the Public Safety CCTV Network, however this data is manually recorded and challenging to extract, resulting in a high degree of variability and accuracy between reporting periods. The data is indicative of continued use of CCTV monitoring by ACT Policing to dispatch policing resources to potential incidents or criminal conduct.

Table A. CCTV Network Utilisation

Criminal offending in Glebe Park – Effectiveness of the Public Safety CCTV Network

In response to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts 5/2021 - Inquiry into the Auditor General’s Report No. 5 of 2021: Management of Closed-Circuit Television Systems, the ACT Government agreed to collect data on criminal offences in Glebe Park to report on the effectiveness of the CCTV Network in increasing public safety in the park.

The expansion of the CCTV Network to Glebe Park was commissioned in July 2021. Data provided by ACT Policing (Table B) indicates that there was a further decline in the number of reported offences to ACT Policing in the reporting period, with 5 offences reported in Glebe Park compared to 12 offences in 2021-22.

_{Table B. Recorded offences in Glebe Park}

Policy and Governance

In June 2022, the ACT Government released the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) Policy (CCTV Policy) to enhance accountability and support safer spaces and events across the ACT. The CCTV Policy sets out the legislative requirements and privacy protections for how CCTV information should be handled, as well as administration and governance arrangements for new and existing installations.

During the reporting period, the JACS Security and Emergency Management Division, which is responsible for the Public Safety CCTV Network, developed an internal CCTV User Handbook to align with the CCTV Policy and provide procedures to support the day-to-day management of the Public Safety CCTV Network.

Installations and Upgrades

To support the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate following two fatalities at Gibraltar Falls, JACS assisted with the supply of one solar-powered CCTV camera to be temporarily installed at that location.

• Trials
  JACS trialled one Axis Five Lens Camera NFR CCTV camera on the Public Safety CCTV Network during the reporting period.
• Removals or Decommissions
  No CCTV removals or decommissions undertaken by JACS in the reporting period.
• Significant Public Safety CCTV Network Faults or Outages
  No significant faults or outages were recorded in the reporting period.

Complaints against the CCTV Network

No complaints against the Public Safety CCTV Network were received by JACS in the reporting period.

Scrutiny of the Public Safety CCTV Network

ACT Auditor-General’s Report 5/2021: Management of Closed-Circuit Television Systems – Government Response tabled 9 November 2021

The ACT Government Response to the Auditor-General’s Report 5/2021 can be found here. Progress in implementing recommendations from this report can be found in the JACS 2022-23 Annual Report.

Standing Committee on Public Accounts 5/2021 - Inquiry into the Auditor General’s Report No. 5 of 2021: Management of Closed-Circuit Television Systems - Government Response tabled 9 June 2022

The ACT Government Response to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts 5/2021 can be found here. Progress in implementing recommendations from this report can be found in the JACS 2022-23 Annual Report.

CCTV Strategic Plan 2020-22

Activities under the CCTV Strategic Plan 2020-22 (CCTV Plan) ceased in the reporting period, with 14 out of 18 activities completed. The following four activities were not completed on closure of the CCTV Plan.