Snapshot: State of the art
As part of the customer-focussed Urban Security Initiative Project launched in 2002, PTA predecessor WA Government Railway Commission (WAGRC) substantially upgraded its camera security and built its first CMR (Central Monitoring Room) at Perth Station in an effort to reduce crime and increase public confidence in the rail system. It was officially opened in December 2004, with about 500 online digital cameras operating across the network.
The images it made available - of a quality not seen before in WA - almost immediately generated the need for a specialist office dedicated to managing (identifying, downloading, storing, copying and, where appropriate, on-passing) vision of interest.
There was a substantial increase in the numbers of cameras feeding into the CMR following the extension of the Joondalup Line to Clarkson (October 2004) and the opening of the Mandurah Line (December 2007), reflecting the resultant increase in the size of the network and the number of stations. It currently operates more than 1200 cameras.
The system - easily the best in Australia and comparable with anything in the industry world-wide - has been a resounding success. The quality of the vision and the operational methodology of the system mean that about 95 per cent of all charges laid as a result of CCTV evidence result in convictions. The CMR has played a key role in a number of high-profile and very successful PTA and WA Police operations to combat graffiti and other anti-social activities.
Partly because of the size constraints of the original room, and reflecting the increased integration of the PTA’s bus, train and ferry operations and infrastructure and the associated need to consolidate CCTV systems and security management, it was decided early in the year to build a new CMR. A purpose-built facility (rather than the original, which was fitted into a spare room at Perth Station) could combine the management of multiple modes to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness.
Work started around October and was nearing completion at year’s-end. The new room has state-of-the-art work-stations and facilities. It combines bus and train surveillance, and incorporates a direct link to the Train Control Room. Operator capacity increases from six to 20, with separate offices for the CMR manager and transit officer shift commander.
An adjoining video surveillance office, with double the number of work-stations as previously, has been built at the rear of the CMR, with improved facilities for the preparation and collation of evidence.
The two areas share a modern kitchen and amenities area, reflecting the requirement that the CMR is staffed 24/7. The facility is designed to allow the use of advances in CCTV technology such as High Definition Video and Video Analytics over the next decade.