Smile, you're being watched
If you do fear your civil liberties are being impinged, then don't enter that area.Community development chairman Ray Stevens Wanganui is upping the number of its Closed Circuit TV (CCTV)
surveillance cameras watching
citizens in public places 24 hours
a day.
Wanganui streets are currently monitored by 19
CCTV cameras at intersections in the central business district and nearby. They can rotate in all directions and have powerful zoom capabilities.
The use of CCTV cameras has sparked worldwide debate in recent years, with wide divisions in communities over whether they are an infringement of civil liberties or a necessary tool in fighting crime.
Wanganui District Council community development committee chairman Ray Stevens said yesterday civil liberties were not an issue for law-abiding people.
"I respect people's rights, but if you're not doing anything wrong then you have got nothing to fear.
"These cameras are not going to eat you, they're not going to bite you and they're not going to hurt you in any shape or form.
"At least a few hundred thousand dollars of ratepayer money has been pumped into them over the past few years," he said.
Signs explaining the use of cameras had been erected in monitored zones.
"If you do fear your civil liberties are being impinged, then don't enter that area."
The cameras are yet another tool police could use to their advantage, he said. "They can be at the scene much faster than waiting for a phone call."
The long-term strategy plan was to install one extra camera per year, he said.
Each camera cost about $12,000, with maintenance for the system budgeted at $20,000 a year.
Whanganui Police properties officer, Senior Constable Ian Mosley said the cameras were a real help to the force.
"These cameras are a great investment.
"A lot of the shops have their own systems. From time to time we'll go and ask them if we can view their footage."
The latest models installed by the council could rotate in all directions and zoom in more than one kilometre.
"The newer ones are just fantastic. You pay for what you get," Senior Constable Mosley said.
Wanganui has been using CCTV cameras for about five years.
