New cameras to watch traffic are also capable of so much more

All of the high-definition digital cameras will have tilt, pan and zoom functions.

The government has denied that cameras will be connected to automated number plate recognition.

"At this stage, the cameras will be live monitoring only and will not be recorded," the government said in a statement.

Vision from the cameras will not be publicly accessible.

However, technical experts advise that once the cameras are installed and the network feed starts, adding additional capabilities and software, and recording a centralised database, is a relatively simple and inexpensive procedure.

"Function creep" in the use of technology has been identified as an issue in the ACT for many years, with police regularly seeking access to red-light and speed camera footage for purposes other than monitoring traffic infringements.

Police have previously been reported as using the point-to-point camera networks, and even the MyWay bus ticket system, to track suspects, but are required under legislation to demonstrate such requests are "reasonably necessary for the enforcement of the criminal law".

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The government is currently engaged in Project Bluesky, which will trial the storage of CCTV in a central data storage location.

The directorate said in a statement, "Initially the cameras will be monitored in the AM peak [hour] as this is the busiest time for traffic."

"Monitoring at other times of day will depend on road network operational performance."

Once installed, all the cameras will be monitored from the Transport Canberra Traffic Management Centre.

The traffic camera rollout will cost $1.75 million, and is part of a jointly funded territory and federal $12 million road safety funding program.

The traffic cameras are in addition to the inter-connected public safety CCTV network cameras located at more than 12 places, including Haig Park, Manuka, Denman Prospect, Kingston, Acton, EPIC, and Greenway.

Unlike the fixed-location traffic cameras, public safety cameras also can be deployed temporarily to known troublespots.

In 2019-20, two solar-powered CCTV cameras were installed in Lonsdale Street, Braddon "to enhance public safety during the Christmas and Summernats period".

Two more were temporarily installed at the National Rock Garden to deter theft and vandalism, and another pair were placed in Mitchell for 6-12 months as a deterrent against vandals.

In its strategic plan for growing CCTV coverage across the territory in the next two years, the government flagged its intention to investigate the feasibility of establishing a CCTV capability that can be quickly deployed to support short-term events, incidents or crime hot spots.

The code of practice established for CCTV will be revised this year to bring all government agencies under one uniform code. Any code change will need to be assessed under the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988, under which it is illegal to collect a person's "sensitive" information without obtaining consent to do so.

However, the exception is if the information is "necessary" to prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual.

A federal review of the act is occurring and 154 public submissions have been provided. The federal Attorney-General will now develop a discussion paper based on the feedback provided.

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