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Link to South Australia's Strategic Plan Objectives

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Link to South Australia's Strategic Plan Objectives Link to South Australia’s Strategic Plan Objectives Strengthening the capacity of the justice system to achieve a safer community will contribute toward the achievement of the following targets: Objective 1: Growing Prosperity Strategic infrastructure Increase investment in strategic areas of infrastructure, such as transport, ports and energy to support and achieve the targets in South Australia’s Strategic Plan. (T1.16) Performance involvement in Lead the nation in cost effectiveness of government the South Australian public services within 5 years. (T1.18) sector – productivity Objective 2: Improving Wellbeing Quality of life Improve Adelaide’s quality of life ranking on the William M. JUSTICE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES Mercer Quality of Life index to be in the top 20 cities in the world within 10 years. (T2.1) Crime rates Reduce crime rates to the lowest in Australia within 10 years. (T2.8) Objective 5: Building Communities Regional crime rates Reduce the level of crime in South Australia’s regions by 10 per cent within 10 years. (T5.10) Regional infrastructure Build and maintain infrastructure to develop and support sustainable communities in regions. (T5.11) Objective 6: Expanding Opportunity Aboriginal wellbeing Reduce the gap between the outcomes for South Australia’s Aboriginal population and those of the rest of South Australia’s population, particularly in relation to health, life expectancy, employment, school retention rates and imprisonment. (T6.1) Background The South Australian Government is responsible for providing civil justice, criminal justice and emergency services across South Australia. Shifting demographics in South Australia demand changes to the way services are provided. These changes present many challenges, in particular dealing with fear of crime, especially among elderly residents; reducing the high representation of Aboriginal youth coming into contact with the criminal justice system; and managing community perceptions about the safety and reliability of the justice system. 88 BUILDING SOUTH AUSTRALIA - INFRASTRUCTURE Challenges and Opportunities Capacity of the Courts System The Courts Administration Authority (CAA) makes extensive The replacement of these systems is best undertaken with Justice And Emergency Services use of computer applications, with its civil and criminal case a planned and progressive approach spread over a 15-year management systems being the core operational systems. period. Redevelopment of ICT systems would overcome the risk of system failure from current ageing applications and software The Integrated Justice Program (IJP) is a vehicle to improve as well as provide a combined civil and criminal case business processes and services, while providing a low-risk management system with enhanced e-business capability. and incremental approach to replacing ageing ICT systems. Other expected benefi ts of this project include increased effi ciencies through digital recording of cases and faster The planned process improvements in the criminal justice reporting of outcomes. system will result in: more effective prosecution of offenders A number of courthouses in regional areas require improved use of information as a tool to reduce crime redevelopment. The courthouses at Berri, Port Lincoln and faster fi nalisation of matters from initial incident to court Port Pirie no longer have the capacity to hear the volume of outcome cases being generated and are defi cient in terms of security reduced clerical effort and improved productivity, freeing and safety. The redevelopment of these court houses is a up police and administrative resources from unnecessary priority for the government. paperwork reduced pressure on correctional ‘remand’ facilities due to faster throughput of cases, and a reduction in crime Strategic Priority and recidivism improved services to victims of crime. Ensure an appropriate level of fi t-for-service court facilities and associated technology to support a IJP covers the major case management systems in each of democratic and fair justice system. the criminal justice agencies, apart from the South Australia Police (SAPOL). Consistent with the approach undertaken by many jurisdictions across the world (e.g. Ontario, Canada Integrated Justice Program and Victoria, Australia), IJP will implement a common and There are signifi cant and growing problems with the current shared infrastructure for data exchange across criminal justice ICT systems, which provide the backbone for information agencies. management across much of the justice system. The systems were built using 1980s technology. Strategic Priority Ensure that crime and disorder are dealt with effectively in our state through the application of modern ICT systems. Police Facilities CBD Police Accommodation The Adelaide central business district currently contains a number of different police buildings that require improvements for operational and security reasons. A police CBD accommodation strategy has been developed to address these issues, with the focus being SAPOL’s state headquarters and Adelaide local service area headquarters. Strategic Priority Progress a police CBD accommodation strategy. 89 Police Operational Facilities Capacity of the Prison System SAPOL operates police stations in 130 locations state-wide and Currently the South Australia prison system is based on nine the facilities range from large, modern, recently constructed relatively small prisons spread across the state. facilities to small facilities constructed in the late 1800s. A continuous upgrade and replacement program is required Reconfi guration of the prison system will result in a more to ensure SAPOL’s operational facilities effectively support cost-effi cient prison system and a safer community through policing objectives, comply with current standards and are better rehabilitation outcomes. It would also enable a range cost-effective to operate. of signifi cant operational risks to be better addressed. A number of upgrade/replacement projects are planned Emergency Services over the next decade to achieve an appropriate level of Integrated Emergency Service Training Facility accommodation to support SAPOL’s objectives. Operational training of fi re fi ghters in the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (SAMFS) and South Australian Mount Barker, Port Lincoln, Victor Harbor, Gawler and Berri Country Fire Service (SACFS) is conducted at facilities at Angle Police Stations Park and Brukunga. There is a demand for initial and ongoing Redevelopment of these facilities will be undertaken through training including specialist training in Urban Search and a private public partnership (PPP) arrangement, with work to Response (USAR), handling of hazardous materials (HAZMAT), commence following the appointment of a PPP provider in Chemical Biological Radioactive Response (CBR) and the 2005. consequences of terrorist attack. JUSTICE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES Northeastern Suburbs and South Coast The development of the Fire and Emergency Services New police stations at locations such as Golden Grove, Para Commission will enable more effective and comprehensive Hills and Aldinga are high priorities to ensure the delivery of training and economies of scale by integrating the training police services to growing communities. services and facilities. Information Systems and Technology A world-class facility providing learning opportunities and SAPOL has a large installed base of technology and skills accreditation for emergency service staff and volunteers applications that underpin and support policing. These ageing will support government public safety priorities. assets must be replaced to meet the demands of policing in a high-technology world. Areas identifi ed for further development include: criminal intelligence capability crime reporting and criminal justice processes traffi c management and road safety counter-terrorism and national information exchange e-crime. Strategic Priority Ensure that training, accommodation and ICT infrastructure support effi cient and effective policing. 90 BUILDING SOUTH AUSTRALIA - INFRASTRUCTURE Co-location of Emergency Services Headquarters The SACFS and the State Emergency Service South Australia (SESSA) both have headquarters and state operations in buildings unsuited to future operational needs. Justice And Emergency Services The development of the Fire and Emergency Services Commission seeks to improve collaboration between all emergency service organisations and to implement new corporate governance arrangements. Operational and cost benefi ts from this change will be realised when SACFS, SESSA, SAMFS and the Commission are co-located. Co-location of communication and operations centres is planned to improve effi ciencies and achieve economic benefi ts. Analysis of emergency service delivery and volunteer needs will continue until all three services have accommodation needs that meet service demands. Strategic Priority Consolidate and co-locate emergency services activities. Rural Property Addressing System The implementation of a rural property addressing system will greatly assist emergency services work in South Australia. In some rural areas a map reference system (RAPID) has been implemented by local emergency services groups, but RAPID is not an addressing system, does not have universal coverage and relies on the user having access to maps or positioning technology. Implementation of a standard rural property addressing system across the state will result in all occupied rural properties being allocated
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