City keeps CCTV plan
The City of Salisbury Council is rolling out more CCTV in Adelaide's northern suburbs despite considerable protests.
Dozens of protesters gathered at a recent council chamber meeting to oppose the council's Smart Cities initiative, which includes introducing more CCTV cameras.
All but two councillors voted in favour of the proposal. The council says it has specifically ruled out the use of facial recognition technology.
The No Smart Cities Action Group (NOSCAG) has accused the Smart Cities program of being an “open-air prison” without privacy.
Their pamphlets say the Salisbury Council is introducing “Big Brother Technologies”.
Salisbury Mayor Gillian Aldridge - a supporter of Smart Cities technology - said the council was trying to dispel misinformation about the proposal.
“It is rolled-out and it's been here for ages,” she said.
“It's things like finding out the hoon drivers, people have asked us, can we please have cameras, it's about illegal dumping of rubbish, it's about bins that tell you when they are full.
“It's about looking after the community the best we can.”
Much of the opposition was prompted by the Adelaide City Council’s decision last year not to use facial recognition technology in new security cameras being installed across the CBD, though the cameras are capable of doing it.
The council wrote to SA Police to ask if the use of facial recognition technology could be delayed until safeguards measures were in place. Police indicated they would likely still use the technology.