Shire of Narrogin to update CCTV after vandalism

After the Shire of Narrogin released an image of the vandalised Gnarogin Park toilets a lot of people have been asking to why there wasn't CCTV footage of the offenders. The Shire of Narrogin CEO Aaron Cook has released this statement.

Due to the recent comments generated on Facebook from the vandalised Gnarogin Park toilets post, it is felt that an update as to what is occurring with the CCTV system should be provided. Here is some background and an update.

The Shire of Narrogin applied for a large grant to expand the CCTV system some two years ago.  The grant was through the Western Australian Police and requires the recipient to meet the WA Police stringent requirements in regards to image clarity and access by WA Police.  The Shire of Narrogin was unsuccessful in the first round of funding but the grant placed highly and the Shire was advised that it was next on the list should savings be made.

During that time there were some issues with the existing CCTV System and Council was left in the quandary of spending considerable money to repair the system or to wait for the prospective grant.  The choice was made to repair the system as the networking items needing to be replaced would meet the requirements of the WA Police grant, and as such the works were undertaken.

Shortly after this WA Police made contact again and advised that the Shire was now successful and negotiations commenced regarding the funding and the specifications of the CCTV System over the following 6 months.  Tender Specifications were prepared and released and a contractor was appointed after WA Police confirmed their funding acceptance.  The grant that was approved not only replaced the existing cameras but also included additional cameras that all meet the required WA Police requirements.  In addition to this it was also negotiated that the older existing cameras are also to be reutilized in other locations and although they don’t meet the WA Police new requirements, having the additional cameras is still an excellent resource and the WA Police agreed with this sentiment.

The contractors have been working on the system over the last several weeks and it is expected that the new system will be finalized in the next week or two.    

The CBD CCTV System is a separate standalone CCTV system that is securely networked and allows access to WA Police for their requirements.  In addition to this main CCTV system the Shire of Narrogin also has minor CCTV systems in the Administration Centre, Library, Depot, Refuse Site and the Leisure Centre.

The Shire staff of the Development and Regulatory Services Department have worked very hard in obtaining the grant and project managing this upgrade and the assistance from the WA Police has been excellent.

Should you have concerns regarding the Shires CCTV System please write to the Shire addressed to CEO Shire of Narrogin, PO Box 1145, Narrogin WA 6312 or send an email to [email protected].

Aaron Cook
Chief Executive Officer