CCTV

Crime and anti-social hot spots in Darwin, Casuarina and Palmerston are now under Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance with 25 new Pan, Tilt and Zoom (PTZ) cameras operating at Casuarina, 21 in the Darwin CBD and 16 in the Palmerston CBD.

  • In Darwin, cameras are located in Mitchell Street, Smith Street (including the Mall) and McLachlan Street.
  • In Casuarina, cameras are located in Dripstone Road, Trower Road, Bradshaw Terrace and Scaturchio Street.
  • In Palmerston, cameras are located in the area roughly bordered by Roystonea Avenue, Temple Terrace, Chung Wah Terrace, the Boulevard and the area adjacent to the Skate Park.

These 62 PTZ cameras are linked on a network with another 47 existing CCTV cameras in locations such as the Casuarina and Palmerston bus interchanges and the Mitchell Street taxi rank to form the Darwin and Palmerston CCTV System.

All the CCTV cameras are monitored by a dedicated police monitoring team located in a real-time CCTV control room, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The monitoring team are able to conduct virtual patrols of known hotspots for criminal activity and anti-social behaviour and dispatch police where police attendance is required.

An initial six month trial period for the Darwin and Palmerston CCTV System will end on June 30 2010, after which Police will analyse the CCTV system’s effectiveness.

The Darwin and Palmerston CCTV system forms part of a package of measures introduced by the Northern Territory Government to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in the Northern Territory. It is a proactive initiative and:

  • sends a strong message to offenders that criminal and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated;
  • acts as a deterrent to would-be offenders;
  • provides a safer environment for the public; and
  • provides high quality images to police investigating criminal incidents and anti-social behaviour, which are suitable for use in subsequent prosecutions.

Installation of the Darwin and Palmerston CCTV System has been funded under the Territory Government’s Anti-social Behaviour Initiatives and the Australian Government’s Safer Suburbs Plan.

The cameras are targeted towards public areas and do not affect law abiding citizens going about their daily business. All images collected by CCTV cameras are managed in accordance with the Information Act NT.

The majority of footage is destroyed after 30 days, although some will be kept longer as evidence for police investigations and prosecutions.

The Territory Government has also provided $1.1 million for the installation of an additional 26 cameras in the Alice Springs CBD and $200 000 a year for monitoring. This will bring the total number of CCTV cameras in Alice Springs CBD to 40. The new cameras in Alice Springs will focus on Hartley Street, Bath Street, Parsons Street, Gregory Terrace and Leichhardt Terrace.

Back to top