$6.6m committed to JESCC upgrades as triple-0 pilot program flagged for Alice Springs
NT Police say upgrades to the triple-0 call centre in the Top End will help modernise the office and expand digital technology used to co-ordinate frontline policing and monitor crime.
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NT Police say upgrades to the triple-0 call centre in the Top End will help modernise the office and expand digital technology used to co-ordinate frontline policing and monitor crime.
A pilot program will also be launched to establish a Police Communications Centre in Alice Springs, aimed at enhancing local co-ordination and support for police operations in Central Australia.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro was at the Joint Emergency Services Communications Centre (JESCC) and CCTV Unit at the Peter McAulay Centre in Darwin on Wednesday to announce a $6.6m investment to upgrade critical infrastructure.
An additional $9.5m over three years — and $1.5m ongoing — will deliver vital technology and systems upgrades to support the enhanced operations of the centre.
Mrs Finocchiaro said the upgrade would ensure the Territory’s core emergency communications systems were fit-for-purpose and future-ready.
“Last year, we saw more than 380,000 calls to the JESCC and on any given day, its call takers handled on average more than 940 calls per day,” she said.
“We are investing in the backbone of emergency co-ordination and surveillance because when seconds count, technology matters.”
The JESCC project will upgrade and relocate digital technology, improve the reliability and capability of dispatch systems, improve infrastructure supporting the JESCC and Government Data Centre, and expand the operations of the CCTV Unit.
Currently all triple-0 calls in the NT go through the JESCC centre.
The Alice Springs pilot will allocate $2m to focus on call taking and CCTV monitoring for the Alice Springs and Barkly regions, complementing existing capability in Darwin.
The six-month trial will help assess whether a regionally based model improves response co-ordination, situational awareness, and outcomes for the community.
JESCC Superintendent Bradley Fox said a centre in Alice Springs could help local knowledge, but likely would not see an increase in police response times.
“It gives us a local knowledge environment (for) addressing the needs of the community,” he said.
“It’s more of a technical solution and a geographical knowledge solution, not so much response times – the response times will probably, for most part, remain as is.”
Opposition Leader Selena Uibo accused the CLP of recycling a four year, $22m commitment made by the former Labor government last April, which funded an extra 25 emergency call takers in an attempt to stem wait time blow outs.
“This is a Chief Minister who made big promises to the community to get elected but has already run out of puff, just eight months into government,” Ms Uibo said.
“Having said that, Territory Labor supports this budget initiative, given we announced it in April last year.”
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Originally published as $6.6m committed to JESCC upgrades as triple-0 pilot program flagged for Alice Springs
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