Ipswich City Council operates one of the largest public safety facilities in Australia. The Safe City program aims to create a safe environment within the city for people to live, work, socialise and play while addressing unacceptable levels of crime and violence.
Over the past 15 years, Ipswich City Council has installed Jacques IP Help Point Units in a number of parks and public areas spread across a 30km area. Help point units offer simplified, one-button calling to the Safe City Monitoring Facility should a person require assistance. The monitoring facility, situated within the CBD, is operated by 24 security officers, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The facility monitors over 580 CCTV cameras across 156 screens, additionally the 20 help point units provide help, support and assistance to the public in the event of an emergency or should someone feel unsafe. If the call button is pressed on a help point unit, the nearby CCTV camera is activated, and the security officer can view the camera stream while communicating verbally with the caller.
The Safe City facility has been recognised as the benchmark for a fully integrated crime prevention program that is not solely reliant on cameras and utilises a co-ordinated approach of all agencies in Ipswich.
