New CCTV cameras installed around the Waikato District are already being used to help police investigations.
By Jordan Smith, Local Democracy Reporter
The 15 cameras around the area have been put in known hotspots for issues such as boy racing or vandalism, Waikato District Mayor Aksel Bech said.
“We’ve definitely seen petty nuisances tend to basically disappear straight away. Similarly, congregation of boy racers also tends to [have] a very high preventative value.”
Pōkeno has three cameras. Meremere, Te Kauwhata, Huntly and Ngāruawāhia have two, leaving Tūākau, Te Kōwhai, Raglan and Taupiri with one apiece.
The installations came at a total cost of $763,500, but only $278,600 of that was funded by the council. The remaining $484,900 was provided through the central Government’s Better Off Funding programme.
Beach stressed that the council doesn’t have access to the cameras’ video, which contain number plate recognition technology, and that they’re essentially another tool for the police.
“It goes straight to their monitoring centre so they can see it in real time... it’s not like a big room with screens where someone sits and watches.”
The council announced that the cameras were operational in early September. Police have already requested footage to help with investigations, the council’s facilities and services manager Mel Tarawhiti said.
High-risk areas were identified through crime and incident data, feedback from police, community consultation and location characteristics, according to Tarawhiti.
“Consideration was also given to factors such as traffic volumes, key entry and exit routes, town centres, and areas where CCTV and automatic number plate recognition technology could provide the greatest benefit in supporting crime prevention and community safety.”
Police were approached for comment but did not respond by deadline.
It’s hoped communities like Te Kōwhai - with “one main road in, one main road out” - will benefit greatly from the cameras, Bech said.
He’s previously been vocal about stamping out boy racers in the district, supporting the Government’s new car crush on first conviction bill passed in July.
The Waikato district settlement of Waiterimu was previously named the region’s most popular boy racer hotspot.
Now, Bech re-emphasised the cameras may only shift the problem elsewhere and a “combination of things” will help curb the problem rather than a silver bullet.
“We think it’s a cost-effective way of making communities safer. It wasn’t all the ratepayers having to fund it so it was a good opportunity to give it a big push.”
Asked if any community members pushed back on the increased surveillance in towns, Bech said the concerns were exactly the opposite.
“It was ‘why is this community getting [it] and we’re not. We want some too’,” he said.
“I think for something in a public place like that - point down to a road or a playground where we’ve had vandalism - the benefit outweighs the intrusion if you like.”
As further funding becomes available, more cameras are set to be introduced.
“We’ll have a good evaluation of whether it’s actually producing value or not and to what extent we should then look at expanding out,” Bech said.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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