Someone is watching you

If you’ve ever walked down Harbour Esplanade chances are somewhere on the other end of the CCTV network a security contractor employed by the City of Melbourne was watching you.

While that may sound a little creepy, the CCTV cameras installed in Docklands and throughout Melbourne are intended to help create a safer city.

Docklands is home to four of Melbourne’s 53 CCTV “Safe City” surveillance cameras.

The City of Melbourne established the CCTV system in 1997 and the Docklands cameras were commissioned in May 2009.

The program was established in order to provide a safer environment, assist police with crime reduction by acting as a deterrent, aid in the detection of crime, identify offenders and assist with emergency responses.

The Docklands “Safe City” CCTV cameras are all located along Harbour Esplanade.

There is a camera located at the esplanade end of NewQuay Promenade, one either side of Central Pier and one on the harbour side of NAB.

According to a City of Melbourne spokesperson, the four cameras, which are monitored 24 hours a day, have captured 12 incidents in the past six months.

An “incident” is anything the security staff monitoring the CCTV network notify police about. Police determine how the incident is managed.

Nine of the incidents reported in the past six months were captured by one camera. The spokesperson did not identify which camera had recorded the most incidents and said this could unfairly categorise the area.