Articles and Publications

CCTV Facts and Information for Brisbane Based Licenced Premiss

Licensed Venues within the Brisbane City Council area that are permitted to trade after One (1) am or if their Liquor Licence has specific conditions must have a CCTV system installed.

Under the Liquor Act 1992 and Liquor Regulation 2002, the following minimum requirements of the CCTV System must include but are not limited to:

• CCTV is installed at all entry and exit points to record patrons entering and exiting the venue, as well as interacting with staff
• CCTV must be operating from Eight (8) PM and continue to operate until One (1) hour after closing time
• The recording must be embedded with the time and date
• Footage must be stored for a minimum of Twenty-Eight (28) days and Twelve (12) Months for any incidents
• Daily Checks are to be performed by the manager and Six (6) monthly checks by a qualified person.
• Signage is displayed to inform patrons that CCTV equipment is operating, and they are being recorded.

Whilst these are minimal requirements, consideration should be made to place strategically Cameras throughout the venue with a variety of additional benefits and considerations such as:

• Protect the licensee from liability claims
• Make Customers and Staff feel safe
• Deter Crime
• Assist in determining customer or stock discrepancies
• Discourage Staff Theft
• Improve Productivity  
• Allow remote viewing of the premiss
• Provide peace of mind

Should you wish to discuss your CCTV requirements further please feel free to contact Ray Turner Technologies on the below contact details.

Alternatively, the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation may be contacted on 13 74 68 or [email protected] .

Retail Loss Prevention

Retail Loss Prevention is simply defined as a set of practices employed by Retailers to preserve profit through eradicating or at least minimising “shrinkage” by theft, fraud, wastage, vandalism, abuse, other deliberate acts of misconduct or in advert error by staff members through poorly executed business practices or failure to follow procedures and policies.

The bulk of losses within The Retail sector are a result of deliberate but preventable criminal acts.

Depending on the specifics of your Business, The particulars of encountered losses, current loss prevention measures presently employed, allocated budget and other factors there are a number of effective measures that can be employed, including but not limited to:

Technology – CCTV, RFID/Electronic Tags, Point of Sale Equipment, Doorbells, etc.

People – Uniformed Security Guards, Covert Plain Clothed Security Personnel, Cash Escorts, Increased Staff Presence, Staff Positioning, etc.  

Physical – Store Layout, Position of Checkouts, Shorten Displays, Mirrors, Security Display Hooks, Display Cabinets, Install a Safe, etc.

Systems and Administration – Establishing Responsibilities and accountability, Developing Procedures and Policies, Signage, Inventory Management Tools, Staff Training, Staff Vetting, etc.

Ray Turner

Director – Ray Turner Technologies

CCTVs Role in Fighting Crime

With yet another late night Armed Robbery at a local convenience store, I questioned why the rise in Robberies in an otherwise steamily quiet suburban town in Brisbane and secondly does CCTV really prevent crime?

Crime seems to be on the rise yet Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) systems are becoming increasingly common in homes, in shops, in pubs and clubs, in Schools and Universities, on public transport, in car parks and a variety of other environments.

Big Brother really is watching!

A CCTV System is not a physical barrier, does not limit access to an area or property, and does not make a person more difficult to rob or assault nor does it make an object or property harder to steal.

So what purpose is CCTV intended to play in Crime prevention?

Firstly CCTV is a deterrent.

The effectiveness of this is somewhat ambiguous and depends on a variety of facts such as The Management and Operation of The System, The location installed and what Crime is targeted.

CCTV ultimately seeks to change the offenders perception that if he or she commits the crime they will be caught, increasing the risk of capture. The Offender however must be aware of the presence of the cameras and believe the risk of capture out weights the rewards of the intended crime.

Secondarily The Footage is utilised to make an arrest and conviction

Police in all states throughout Australia rely heavily upon footage collected from CCTV Cameras when investigating crimes and there are numerous examples of where recordings has been utilised to aid in the conviction of an offender.

However there are often issues of image quality when assessing evidence. There are many different types of CCTV Systems and quality varies significantly. As an example some Cameras still in use today record in Black and White, whist others record still frames at intermittent times. Many CCTV Systems in homes and small business are purchased on-line and installed as a DIY (Do It Yourself) Kit.

Poor quality images are problematic from both a prosecution and defences perspective and often such evidence is deemed to be inadmissible and cannot be presented in Court.

A Professional CCTV System must incorporate and take into account a number of considerations and factors such as; Placement of The Cameras, Number of Cameras, Camera Types, Analogue vs Digital Cameras, Fixed or Wireless Cameras, Lenses, Resolution, Storage Requirements, Compression ratios, Remote Viewing, Monitoring, Network Requirements, Lighting, Environmental factors, etc.

There unfortunately is no “One Size Fits All” solution when it comes to CCTV.

The use of CCTV Systems carefully planned, implemented and integrated by a professional Security Advisor and Installer combined with a variety of other crime prevention measures is strongly recommended and has been proven to be effective in minimising a variety of criminal activities.

Ray Turner

Director – Ray Turner Technologies