Qld Police gets access to CCTV network via iPads

Queensland Police officers will soon be able to use iPads and smartphones to monitor Brisbane's entertainment hot spots via a live feed from the city's CCTV network.

As part of an AU$970,000 digital upgrade and expansion of Brisbane City Council's City Safe CCTV network, an initial 10 iPads will be deployed to Queensland Police to enable officers to access 82 CitySafe cameras — nine of which have been newly installed across the city and Fortitude Valley as part of the expansion.

All of the cameras were also recently migrated onto a digital platform to enable police quick and easy access to video footage.

Queensland Police Minister Jack Dempsey said the new system will provide valuable evidence for police, as the live vision could be recorded at City Safe and used in future court proceedings.

"If trouble makers think they're safe because there are no police in sight, they should remember officers could be watching them on their iPad a block away," he said.

"These upgrades have expanded our reach and everyone needs to remember we'll be watching."

According to Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, during the last financial year, City Safe helped police prevent serious assaults on nearly 1,150 occasions and helped identify a further 12,380 incidents.

The City Safe upgrade was delivered by council with the assistance of a 2013-14 local government grant of AU$350,000 from the Queensland government and an AU$73,000 Australian government grant in addition to the council's contribution of AU$550,000.

But this isn't the first time that Queensland police has used iPads to help improve its policing service. The agency purchased 400 iPad mini tablets last July to test the custom-built Queensland Police Service (QPS) mobile app, which enabled police officers to instantly search a person, vehicle, and address details through QPS, CrimTrac, and Department of Transport systems.