House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-07-25 Daily Xml

Contents

CCTV Cameras

Mr MURRAY (Davenport) (14:51): My question is to the Attorney-General. Can the minister update the house on how the government is enhancing community safety through the use of CCTV?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (14:52): I am happy to do so, member for Davenport—who has taken a very active interest in the significance of CCTV and its impact, ensuring that it acts as a deterrent, of course, for offensive and criminal behaviour, but also, if it didn't deter them, be able to capture them and provide the evidence in due course to ensure that it is an effective mechanism.

To update the house in this important area of community safety, I am pleased to announce that I have approved grants funding for installation of CCTV cameras across the metropolitan area and in areas where issues of community safety have been paramount. Those grants are provided under the usual $500,000 budget to the Attorney-General's Department to improve community safety. As I have indicated, I consider this to be a worthy initiative, and I'm very pleased to be involved in and continue to roll out.

In May and June 2018, the City of Salisbury lodged two applications under the Attorney-General's Department CCTV Grants Program, seeking funding for the Salisbury Oval and the war memorial CCTV project, and the Pooraka Farm Community Centre CCTV project. These two projects, of course, have been considered and both applications have been successful. Their funding agreements were finalised on 27 June.

The City of Salisbury will be provided with a total of $75,500 towards the installation of four new CCTV cameras around Orange Avenue and the war memorial, and up to 24 CCTV cameras will be installed internally and externally at the Pooraka Farm Community Centre, Pine Lakes Community Centre and Salisbury West Library. The City of Salisbury, I am pleased to say, is working with us on this and will contribute $75,500 as well. I have recently written to the members of parliament covering this council area to advise them of the good news and thank them for their interest in the grant funding. The CCTV cameras are scheduled to be installed over the next six months and expected to be operational by mid-December.

It has been great to work with other agencies in this rollout, including the Police Security Services (who, members may be aware, are active already in monitoring CCTV) and SAPOL, of course, who are responding to the incidents. I will be returning to parliament in the next year, as the City of Salisbury will review available reported crime data over the next 12 months post implementation to measure the impacts of the projects, and for local members of parliament with coverage in this area such data will be made available. I am sure it will be useful to all members in that district to ensure that they can identify areas of antisocial behaviour and the like.

Beyond this grant provision, on Friday the member for Gibson and I will be visiting the Salvation Army at Marion to present it with grant funding for its own CCTV cameras. The work of the Salvation Army is integral for that local community and, clearly, the CCTV effectiveness is immeasurable. I thank the member for Gibson, Corey Wingard MP, Minister for Police, for writing to me on this issue and the need for such important grant funding.