Western Australia’s new State Operations Command Centre (SOCC) has officially opened, providing enhanced management, tactical intelligence and technical capability to support frontline officers and agency staff throughout the state.
The new hub combines the services and resources of the former SOCC and Police Operations Centre into one high-tech, purpose-built facility.
Department of Justice, Department of Communities and Department of Education personnel are also based in the new CBD facility, in addition to Mental Health Co-Response staff, enabling greater collaboration and information sharing than ever before.
WA Police Minister Paul Papalia said: “The State Operations Command Centre, in conjunction with other new high-tech assets like the Airbus H145 helicopters, body worn cameras and vehicle dash-cams, provide the WA Police Force with better situational awareness than ever before.
“The high-tech facility improves real-time data sharing from the frontline and other agency partners, giving officers vital information when responding to emergencies across WA.
“This will be further enhanced when our state-wide satellite communications rollout is complete, providing 550 vehicles and 129 police stations in regional or remote parts of WA with metropolitan equivalent connectivity.”
During the centre’s design phase, the WA Police Force engaged global leaders in technology and advanced 24/7 operations centre management to ensure the SOCC meets current and future technology-based policing needs.
Custom-designed video walls can display live feeds from the Police Air Wing, officers’ body-worn cameras, security camera footage, and automatic numberplate recognition alerts, among other things, to provide real-time decision-making.
To future-proof the facility, the SOCC’s technical and network design includes over 50 kilometres of data cable, 200 power circuits, 13 kilometres of power cable, more than half a dozen switchboards and two kilometres of fibre optic cable.
