THREE important issues needed to be considered in the ruling by the Administrative Decisions Tribunal questioning the legality of the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras by local governments, Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson said.
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However, for Orana Local Area Command crime manager Detective Inspector Rod Blackman, the importance of CCTV was more black and white.
Speaking at a community crime forum, hosted by Member for Dubbo Troy Grant last week, Detective Inspector Blackman said he was a keen advocate of CCTV.
"The central business district of Dubbo is not the problem it used to be [since the installation of CCTV]," Inspector Blackman said.
He said while the cost was prohibitive, more CCTV cameras in the city could play a greater role in crime detection and prevention.
However, Detective Inspector Blackman said the increased use of microwave technology and mobile cameras was an option well worth considering.
"We still need these cameras," he told the forum.
Cr Dickerson said the man who had successfully argued before the tribunal that it was not a council's role to collect evidence for purposes of prosecuting crime raised an interesting point.
"I have long argued that it is difficult for a council to be blamed for high crime in an Local Government Area when councils have no direct power to influence crime (the state government controls most of the areas directly influencing crime)," he said.
"But I believe it is vital for a council to work with the state government to help reduce crime.
"In Dubbo, for example, we are largely responsible for the installation of a number of CCTV cameras (with some government grants) but all of the cameras are fed back into the police station and, as far as I know, all of the data is recorded at the police station.
"We are responsible for certain parts of the maintenance of course which helps in the overall delivery of CCTV.
"In this area though, residents cannot have it both ways. They blame councils for crime in their LGA and then argue the council can't be proactive in preventing crime," Cr Dickerson said.
Cr Dickerson said the man who successfully prosecuted his case before the tribunal, Adam Bonner, had used expert evidence to show crime had increased after the cameras were installed.
"I would like to see the particulars of this evidence. Simply showing crime has increased in an area does not demonstrate the effectiveness or otherwise of cameras. There are so many factors that will have an impact on crime. Population increases, unemployment, the list goes on," he said.
"What is a fact in Dubbo is that the camera network has been used to prosecute individuals who have committed a crime. From the anecdotal information I have been told, it is very rare for CCTV footage to actually be used in a courtroom to show the guilt of a perpetrator.
"Once an alleged perpetrator is shown footage which clearly shows the crime, I am told that most people admit to the crime. The evidence is too damning.
"There is no doubt though that CCTV footage helps catch criminals and remove them from the system for varying lengths of time.
"When someone is about to commit a crime and they notice a CCTV camera, they are less likely to commit the crime as they know they will be on camera."
Cr Dickerson said the tribunal said it was not satisfied the signage near the cameras adequately informed people about their privacy implications.
"The obvious solution to this would be to ensure the signage used makes it clear what the privacy implications are. This part would seem to be able to be solved relatively simply," he said.
Cr Dickerson said it was important to note the NSW government sees the need for CCTV and it would make legislative changes if necessary.
"Further research from overseas is interesting. CCTV has been shown to reduce crime but the most dramatic reduction has been shown where CCTV is used with increased police presence," he said.
