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Project Name: Centennial Park CCTV Proposal
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Location: Centennial Park
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Project Timing: To be confirmed
Project description
Centennial Parklands is one of Sydney’s most popular open public spaces and receives over 31 million visits each year.
To enhance the safety of Parklands visitors, its assets and deter criminal activity and anti-social behaviour, planning is underway to install a range of CCTV cameras, starting with Centennial Park with two camera poles, containing three cameras each.
The poles are proposed to be located near the Education Precinct and The Ian Potter Children’s WILD PLAY Garden. This area is bounded by Loch Avenue, Grand Drive and Dickens Drive.
The cameras will be in use 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the positioning of the cameras will not affect any external areas to Centennial Park. Images from all cameras will be recorded and retained for a period of time to allow for authorised persons to review the footage to identify an incident as part of an investigation.
Why do the Parklands need CCTV?
Centennial Parklands Rangers are responsible for patrolling its three parks: Centennial Park, Queens Park and Moore Park. However, as they cover the entire 360 hectares of the Parklands they may not always be available to attend to an incident in a timely manner due to being engaged with incidents at other locations.
The introduction of CCTV will provide an additional tool for Parklands Management to report and/or assist the NSW Police with information on any critical incidents that may occur within the Park.
Privacy and data protection to comply with Government Policy
The decision to install CCTV was made in compliance with the NSW Government Policy Statement and Guidelines for the Establishment and Implementation of CCTV in Public Places. The guidelines consider relevant privacy and data collection laws, including the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.
In compliance with these guidelines, community consultation will take place prior to the introduction of the CCTV, and Standard Operating Procedures and other supporting protocols will also be prepared for approval by Parklands Management.
Public consultation
Public consultation for this project ran from Monday 22 May for a three week period and closed on 12 June 2017.
Consultation with the NSW Police, key business units, relevant stakeholders and the Centennial Parklands Community Consultative Committee was undertaken prior to the public consultation period, and their feedback will be incorporated into the project planning.
Timing
The timing of installation is currently being considered, and further information will be provided via this page once installed.
How will CCTV cameras impact visitors?
The cameras will not impact visitors to the Park and they will be advised by onsite signage that they may be recorded. Signs will be erected at and near the proposed locations, in a position where the public will be clearly advised of the presence of CCTV and that they may be recorded. The signs will be in compliance with legal requirements of the installation of CCTV.
Footage taken will also record staff as they perform their duties however cameras will not be monitored on a day-to-day basis, nor will they be used to ‘spy’ on staff. The footage may be used in official investigations by the NSW Police or Centennial Parklands.
Access to the CCTV recordings will be restricted and all viewing of the footage will be documented and subject to regular audits.
Police and other authorised legal persons will only have access to the footage for the purpose of conducting investigations. It is proposed the footage will be kept for approximately three months.