Toowoomba Regional Council to upgrade City Safe control facility to increase CCTV monitoring of CBD

With more than 200 CCTV cameras across the Toowoomba region, including more than 100 in the CBD alone, the City Safe program has grown since the first camera was installed in 1994. See how the cameras have helped tackle crime.

Starting as one of the first CCTV programs in Queensland with a trial of one camera at the intersection of Margaret and Ruthven streets in 1994, Toowoomba’s City Safe program has grown in the decades since.

Now with more than 100 cameras in the CBD alone, CCTV coverage has expanded across the city, with plans to further enhance the network’s capacity through an upgrade of the control facility.

Operated by Toowoomba Regional Council, the region’s CCTV network includes 110 public safety CCTV cameras within the city CBD, and about 40 cameras in highly trafficked areas of Queens Park.

About 60 further fixed cameras operate as public safety or as public safety asset protection cameras.

City Safe also manages 20 high visible mobile CCTV cameras that can be located in parks, carparks, near toilets and public sports facilities and are designed to be redeployed where the need seems to be the greatest.

City safe camera in Toowoomba CBD. Tuesday, July 12, 2022. Picture: Nev Madsen.

In comparison, Mackay Regional Council operates 27 security cameras in the city’s Safe Night Precinct, with all footage sent to a recorder at Mackay police station.

Cairns Regional Council has a CCTV network of 505 cameras, with 275 of them covering public spaces and facilities within the CBD, while Townsville City Council operates a network of 522 cameras with 21 cameras located on Flinders Street in the Safe Night Precinct.

Council’s environment and community committee chair James O’Shea said the City Safe program has advanced over the years from VHS recorders to hard drive machines, DVD records and to the latest technology featuring a full IP network with server recording.

“In the second half of 2022 City Safe will replace its original control facility with a new facility within Toowoomba CBD, giving City Safe the capacity to live monitor all City Safe cameras at once,” Mr O’Shea said.

“City Safe interact with Queensland Police Service almost 3000 times per year in either a live incident capture and response or post event incident investigation.

“City Safe, with QPS and many licensed venues in Toowoomba, operate the ‘City Watch Program’ which is the co-ordinated effort of communication to manage incident identification and response throughout the city of Toowoomba on Friday and Saturday nights, late into the next morning. This program has proven to be a positive initiative to stop incidents before they escalate, foster a quick deployment from QPS directly to incident locations, and ensures that incidents can be captured on camera and store.”

City Safe cameras busting crime in Toowoomba:

Big night out ends with damaged police van and police assault

A Toowoomba man’s big night out on the town landed him a jail term for graffitiing street signs and damaging the back of a police van.

About 11.01pm on April 29 Toowoomba CBD City Safe CCTV cameras captured Andrew John Harding drinking a can of alcohol before attempting to gain entry to the Cube Hotel.

The 28-year-old was refused entry and when police arrived he began to abuse them, calling them “dogs”.

Toowoomba Magistrates Court was told Harding was placed in the back of a police vehicle, but as he was being put in he kicked out at the pod door, hitting an officer.

The court was told that while he was being transported to the watch house, Harding broke open a pink paint pen, spilling paint throughout the back of the vehicle.

Harding pleaded guilty three counts of commit public nuisance in vicinity of licensed premises, wilful damage of police property, two counts of wilful damage and possessing a graffiti instrument.

Acting magistrate Roger Stark jailed Harding for one month, with immediate parole, and ordered he complete 40 hours community service. He was also fined $137, and ordered to pay $660 restitution.

Driver blew .175 after stopping to relieve himself on CBD street

Joel Andrew Taylor had nothing to say in his defence after he pleaded guilty to drink driving.

Police prosecutor Jacquelyn Miller told the Toowoomba Magistrates Court in March 2021 that Taylor came to the attention of authorities when a City Safe camera spied him urinating in a CBD carpark about 2.40am on February 28 of that year.

“He was viewed on CCTV, and he entered the door of a vehicle on Annand St,” she said.

Police intercepted Taylor and told him he was required to provide a breath specimen.

The court heard Taylor declined a roadside breath test and as a result was arrested and lodged at the Toowoomba Watchhouse, where police issued a second test.

“The reading was taken as 0.175 per cent,” Sgt Millar said.

When asked if he had anything to say in his defence, Taylor declined, other than to enter a plea of guilty to driving under the influence and failing to provide a specimen as required for a breath test.

Magistrate Howard Osborne fined Taylor $1300 for the two offences, disqualified him from holding a driver’s licence for nine months and recorded both convictions.

Young man handed jail term for assaulting two men in CBD street fight

A 21-year-old man who punched two men on the street during an altercation outside a Toowoomba nightclub has been handed a jail sentence and ordered to pay $5000 compensation to one of his victims.

Kody John William McGahan was out in Toowoomba’s CBD late on September 5, 2020, when he became involved in an argument relating to an earlier incident involving friends outside the Cube Hotel, Toowoomba District Court heard in May 2022.

In City Safe camera footage of the incident that was played to the court, McGahan was seen to strike out and punch one man and then the other, both of whom fell to the ground.

McGahan pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and one of assault occasioning bodily harm in company and was sentenced to 12 months in jail wholly suspended for 15 months and ordered to pay $5000 compensation.

Toowoomba city CCTV catches drink driver getting behind wheel

Despite being warned by police that he was under surveillance by City Safe camera operators, a drunk man walked to his car parked in Toowoomba’s main street, got in and ultimately blew almost four times the legal limit when pulled over.

Police on patrol had spoken with Kodi Shane Freckleton on another matter in the Bell Street Mall on the evening of November 12 2021, Toowoomba Magistrates Court was told in January 2022.

The 30-year-old was given a “move on” direction and told by police that he was under surveillance so he should leave the area in accordance with the directive.

However, City Safe camera operators alerted the police officers to Freckleton and a passenger getting into a car park on Ruthven St and then driving off.

His car was soon pulled over by police and Freckleton blew a positive reading for alcohol and was taken to Toowoomba police station where he returned a breath/alcohol reading of 0.186.

The self-represented Freckleton pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of liquor, and was fined $700 as well as disqualified from driving for eight months.

Waiting in car for Uber ends in heavy fine for teenager

A Toowoomba woman was charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence while she was waiting in her car for an Uber.

After a night out on the town, Shameka Julie Leeding looked to escape the bitter Toowoomba winter in the comfort of her car while waiting for an Uber, Toowoomba Magistrates Court was told June.

About 1.40am on June 11 this year, the 19-year-old was caught on City Safe CCTV cameras staggering down Ruthven Street, visibly intoxicated, and getting in a car. Fearing that Leeding would then drive away, a camera operator contacted police.

About 1.47am, officers patrolling the precinct parked their vehicle, blocking Leeding’s vehicle from leaving.

“She was unable to provide any reason why she didn’t catch an Uber from around the Subway where she was first noticed by City Safe cameras,” Sergeant Bugden said.

Leeding was breath tested and returned a reading of 0.160. Leeding pleaded guilty to being in charge of a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor and obstructing a police officer.

Leeding was fined $1500, which was referred to SPER, and disqualified from driving for six months. No convictions were recorded.