WESTERN Australia Police have moved ahead with the WA state government’s plans to establish a state CCTV register in the line with the proposals of the State CCTV Strategy, which set out a vision for the shared use of integrated and compliant CCTV resources to enhance public safety and security in crime hotspots.
WA Police have released tender WAPOL02116, which outlines the Provision of a State CCTV Register in the government’s Information Technology Broadcasting and Telecommunications category.
Sharing CCTV image streams is not without precedent but the State Government of Western Australia is taking this to another level after unveiling plans for the state-wide integration of public and private CCTV resources in the interests of public safety and security by the end of 2017. It’s a bold vision that may well become a template, not just for other Australian states but for governments globally.
Connecting the State’s CCTV systems will be challenging, due to the diversity of system types, age and access restrictions. To circumvent this, the Strategy will prioritise registered CCTV system donors to identify those of the highest value for public safety. The Strategy also takes into account the fact that rapid development of CCTV technology may outpace the relevance and suitability of the documentation supporting the Strategy. The Taskforce will be responsible for reviewing and keeping documentation up to date. At all times, the Strategy’s progress and outcomes will be measured on behalf of the community and government to track that the aspiration of the State CCTV Strategy is achieved.
The core of the Strategy is the provision of a mechanism by which CCTV owners can volunteer the data from any public facing camera that they manage to one or more agreed clients – typically law enforcement agencies like WA Police. When a CCTV system owner shares their data through the State CCTV Strategy, they are considered a donor. Anyone who receives data from a donor through the State CCTV Strategy is known as a client.
Establishing a functional State CCTV Register to take over from the current Blue Iris programme is a key step in the process of the State CCTV Strategy. The tender closes May 10, 2016.♦
Read more about WA's State CCTV Strategy here.
