Toilet blocks could be monitored 24/7 under a proposal from a West Torrens councillor

An Adelaide council could have CCTV cameras outside all toilet blocks, monitored 24 hours by private security – inspired by a councillor’s trip to Europe.

Toilet blocks around a western suburbs council could be monitored around the clock with the help of outside security cameras under a proposal from a councillor who believes the move would boost community safety.

At Tuesday night’s West Torrens council meeting, elected members unanimously backed councillor Kym McKay’s motion calling for a report on the potential installation of CCTV, seeking estimates for how much it would cost to install the technology and have it monitored 24/7 by a private security company.

Mr McKay said the motion was prompted by rising crime around the state and a recent trip to Europe.

“I’ve just come back recently from Europe and one of the things I noticed over there was … a comfortable feeling going to the toilets and that over there,” he said.

“They had someone manning them and no vandalism.”

The public toilets at Weigall Oval, in the West Torrens Council area.

Mr McKay was aware the initiative could spark privacy concerns but said the cameras would monitor only areas outside the toilet and within public spaces.

“In today’s world, if you’re not doing anything wrong, what have you got to worry about if there’s a camera looking over a public space,” he said.

“I’m certainly aware that there’ll be some individuals that’ll probably come back and say it’s an invasion of privacy and all this sort of thing but it’s not about an invasion of privacy.

“My only motive is to increase public safety and to lessen vandalism in our areas.

“There’s always vandalism going on in the toilets, whether it’s graffiti, whether someone rips an air dryer off the wall.”

It’s not the first time council has considered such a proposal.

Mr McKay said years ago consideration was given to installing cameras at Apex Park to “stem the trouble” but the proposal was defeated amid privacy concerns.

He said today anyone could already film and photograph others with their telephones in public spaces.

The report Mr McKay sought from council would consider legislative issues associated with the move, including privacy matters.

He emphasised he wanted to see costs estimates for the initiative – especially those associated with 24/7 private security monitoring — before pursuing the matter further.

CCTV is widely used by councils, including Adelaide City Council, which has a network of cameras monitored 24/7 by SA Police.

At Onkaparinga, a spokesperson said the council did use CCTV but did not publicly disclose the locations or operational details of the equipment “to maintain their effectiveness in deterring crime and vandalism”.

By Mr McKay’s estimated there were around a dozen locations around the West Torrens council area where the cameras could be installed.