The watchful eye of Paihia: Town's state-of-the-art CCTV system paying off

CCTV cameras record the registration plates of every vehicle that enters and leaves Paihia. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Just four months after it was switched on, Paihia's state-of-the-art CCTV system is already solving crimes and taking offenders off the streets.

The arrest of a 31-year-old man accused of robbing Paihia's town custodian last week was a result of high-quality CCTV footage combined with a determined, almost four-hour search by police.

Dillon Jos Taituha, of Paihia, was remanded in custody when he appeared in the Kaikohe District Court last Monday charged with robbing Henare Rapana of a car, wallet and cellphone. He also faces unrelated charges of kidnapping, robbery and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle.

While that was the highest-profile arrest enabled by the CCTV system so far it was not the first.

Focus Paihia chairman Grant Harnish and Senior Sergeant Peter Robinson, of Mid North police, secured the funding for the town-wide security system while Focus Paihia member Gary Lucas, who has a background in IT, oversaw its installation.

In a satisfying twist, the system was paid for not by honest ratepayers but by criminals themselves — the $120,000 bill was covered by the Proceeds of Crime Fund, which distributes assets seized by police to crime-prevention projects around the country.

Paihia already had a CCTV network but Lucas said the new system covered a wider area — from the top of Ōpua Hill to Haruru — and made use of the latest technology.

It combined fixed cameras, powerful pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras which could be operated from a central control room or an iPad, and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.

Camera sets had been installed along State Highway 11 at Ōpua Hill, Te Haumi, Seaview Rd, Williams Rd, Haruru Falls Rd and the entrance to Wātea.

Drivers often mistook the Wātea unit for a speed camera, which was an added bonus, Lucas said.

A CCTV camera array on Kings Rd in Paihia. Photo / Peter de Graaf

There were also cameras in the Williams Rd car park, at the corner of Williams Rd and Selwyn Rd, and three PTZ cameras on Kings Rd, historically Paihia's worst trouble spot.

Cameras had also been installed at Waitangi Bridge and the adjacent boat ramp. Cameras at Davis Cres were privately owned but formed part of the network.

Lucas said the cameras recorded the licence plate of every passing vehicle, alerting operators to cars that had been reported stolen.

Police could access the system to check the movements of vehicles linked to criminal activity or missing people.

The installation was completed in December last year.

While Focus Paihia installed the cameras, live monitoring of the cameras at high-risk times such as Friday and Saturday nights was done by Kerikeri Community Patrol members based at Kerikeri police station.

The volunteer group had expanded its service to Paihia since the demise of the town's own community patrol.

A former police officer based in Kaitāia also helped with monitoring.

Signs inform the public of the presence of CCTV cameras around Paihia, Ōpua and Haruru. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Lucas said the system was already having a deterrent effect.

Thefts from cars and boats at the Waitangi boat ramp, for example, had dropped sharply since the cameras were installed.

It had also helped solve crimes such as a spate of thefts in Te Haumi and the disappearance of a swing from Paihia School.

The group targeting Te Haumi had been scouting the area during the day, then returning by night for boats and trailers.

Their vehicles were tracked by CCTV as they passed through Kawakawa, which has its own camera system, or tried to sneak in via back roads such as Oromahoe Rd.

On April 8, when Paihia's town custodian was robbed, Kerikeri Community Patrol volunteers had been live-monitoring the cameras earlier in the night.

They captured ''very, very clear'' images of two men who were subsequently linked to recorded footage of the attack about 3.30am.

CCTV cameras at the corner of Marsden Rd and Kings Rd, a crime hotspot in Paihia. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Lucas said information captured by the ANPR cameras that wasn't of interest to police was deleted after two months.

Some people complained they felt they were being spied on, but Lucas said he saw it as reassurance.

''If you don't do anything wrong no one will go looking for your number plate.''

There were still improvements to be made in the way the cameras were linked together.

ITM, a building supplies store, had provided a commercial-grade fibre network to link the Haruru cameras.

In Paihia the Far North District Council was planning a ''super-duper fibre connection'', paid for by the government's Tourism Infrastructure Fund, to provide wi-fi for holidaymakers. That would also allow better monitoring and searching on the camera network.

Lucas said he was keen to see more co-ordination between the Far North's public CCTV systems.

At present each town had to chase funding and volunteers to watch the cameras at key times.

A central monitoring hub would help greatly, he said.

Far North towns with CCTV systems include Kawakawa, Kerikeri, Kaikohe, Kaitaia and Russell. The Karikari Peninsula also has one and Russell. Awanui plans to join them.

The system in Kerikeri is understood to be dated and not fully functioning. A reinvigorated business association is working to rectify that.

Kaikohe is also planning an upgrade and has been granted funding. The business association is consulting on the best camera locations.

Kaitāia has an extensive system but the vandalism of a transmitter is understood to have put some cameras out of action. Funding is needed for repairs.

Whangārei has an extensive CCTV system monitored seven days a week by police-vetted volunteers.