Logan City in South East Queensland, Australia recently opened a $1.3 million CCTV surveillance center that uses facial recognition technology to monitor troublemakers, criminals, and burst water mains, according to a report by The Register.

Over the past decade, the program has expanded from nine CCTVs to more than 300. The system operates on the Teleste video management system, which is also being used in Paris and Sweden, as well as in Austria’s national transport and roadways.

The surveillance feeds are monitored by two personnel members in the monitoring room, which are also streamed to local police, said Logan City Mayor Pam Parker.

“We are now ahead of the game with first class systems in place. And as I always say, you have nothing to be concerned about if you are doing the right thing,” said Parker. “We have a unique relationship with Queensland Police Service, Queensland Rail, TransLink and a wide range of community organisations in providing this service.”

Using a web-based geographic information system, the center is able to monitor train stations, shopping centers and other public areas for any unusual activity.
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The system is also trialing facial recognition technology and may soon be sending video streams to police iPads.

Since last March, approximately 2,700 incidents have been captured on camera by the system including criminal acts, public drinking, and car accidents.

For a few years, state police services have been using facial recognition systems including iFace in Victoria and PhotTrac in New South Wales.