The ACT government has expanded the territory's public safety CCTV network, which police have used to investigate crime on 298 occasions since the start of 2018.
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Police and Emergency Services Minister Mick Gentleman said 12 solar-powered CCTV units had been installed at crime hotspots across the ACT since June 2017 as deterrents and to support police investigations.
The new cameras are at locations including the entrances to Glebe Park in the city and the Jerrabomberra Wetlands car park in Kingston, as well as in the Tuggeranong town centre between Anketell Street and Lake Tuggeranong.
They join 72 existing public safety cameras that cover a range of locations including Canberra's central business district, GIO Stadium, Manuka Oval, Exhibition Park, the Kingston and Manuka shopping precincts, and the capital's bus stations and depots.
Mr Gentleman said solar-powered cameras were also being used temporarily to strengthen safety at major public events, including Summernats and Floriade, and at the National Arboretum.
A multi-lens, high-definition CCTV camera is also set to be installed at Haig Park in Braddon in early 2019.
Mr Gentleman said that camera would provide 360-degree coverage and increase the safety of pedestrians using the park and surrounding area between Girrahween and Henty streets in Braddon.
The ACT government announced a $376,000 upgrade of Canberra's public safety CCTV network in June 2017, then set aside $948,000 in the 2018-19 budget to upgrade the network at locations identified by ACT Policing as key areas.
The $948,000 expense is split over four years, with $234,000 of that to be spent this financial year.
Public safety CCTV cameras in the ACT record 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Police at the Winchester Police Centre in Belconnen monitor the network's cameras during peak periods to combat crime and anti-social behaviour.
The footage captured by the system is stored for 30 days before being recorded over.
"Canberrans have a right to feel secure as they enjoy our city," Mr Gentleman said.
"The ACT government has a strong focus on safer crowded places and public areas and holding offenders accountable across the territory."
While Mr Gentleman talked up the effectiveness of CCTV in making people feel safer, the ACT Council of Social Services expressed doubts over the expansion of the public safety network in its budget submission earlier in the year.
"It has ... been noted to ACTCOSS that CCTV upgrades are not the most effective tool to improve people’s perceptions of safety and security at night," the submission said.
"Research undertaken by the Women’s Centre for Health Matters found that women’s perceptions of safety in Canberra were more positively affected by instituting mixed dwellings and businesses in areas perceived as unsafe, better lighting, and making spaces such as bus interchanges and bike paths visible to roads and housing."
The ACT government's Justice and Community Services directorate manages and maintains the camera network.
The Transport Canberra and City Services directorate looks after a separate network of more than 2400 cameras in public places including libraries, waste facilities, cemeteries and bus stops. About 85 per cent of those cameras are on public transport services.
Another network of eight CCTV cameras, administered by Transport Canberra and City Services, is used for traffic monitoring on arterial roads.
