The Cairns Model: Evaluating the context of an open-space, closed circuit television system in an urban centre in tropical Australia

Abstract

Australian and United Kingdom evaluations of open-space, closed circuit television (CCTV) systems in urban areas were reviewed in an attempt to identify elements of good practice and assess the Cairns Regional Council's (CRC) CCTV system against them. Recommended management and operational practices were extracted from peer reviewed public health and criminological literature and government reports. These were grouped by key topics and tabulated. CRC's CCTV manuals were examined. Observational sessions, open-ended discussions and focus groups with operators and stakeholders were used to identify operational and management practices. These were then compared with those found in the literature and the results fed back to Council. We found the Cairns CCTV model generally met recommended guidelines but improvements are possible. This article also situates this study within debate surrounding the adequacy of CCTV evaluation. Our evaluation used a public health ‘continuous quality improvement’ approach incorporating elements of a criminological ‘realist evaluation’ methodology. This identified 10 contexts within which to postulate and test, with further research, the mechanisms through which the Cairns CCTV system operates. Implications for improving our understanding of the effectiveness of CCTV are discussed.