Anderson Park, Napier will see the installation of seven CCTV cameras and two speakers, predominantly for the purpose of crime prevention, by the end of September.
The cameras will serve as a visible deterrent and will aim to reduce the amount of intentional vandalism which has previously been experienced within the playground.
The update on the network of CCTV cameras around Napier was provided by the Napier Assist/Āwhina Tāngata team at a Napier City Council meeting last week.
“The playground area (Anderson Park) has seen a fair bit of wilful damage, the cameras will not just be for crime detection but also to monitor anti-social behaviour, gang tensions etc,” said Napier Assist Āwhina Tangata team leader Daniel Hicks at the meeting.
Hicks also mentioned the installation of five CCTV cameras in the Upper Dickens Street car park which does not currently have any CCTV cameras operating.
He said the carpark was an entry/exit point for shoplifters for precisely that reason.
The five CCTV cameras were expected to cover all entry and egress points and will be capable of providing an overview of the entire car park. There was no delivery date yet for this work.
“Shoplifting continues to be under reported by Napier businesses and the Napier Assist/Āwhina Tāngata team continue to encourage retailers to improve their layout to prevent shoplifting and to report each instance of shoplifting to police.”
In Maraenui, the existing CCTV camera will be relocated to a permanent pole near the new playground along with an additional two CCTV cameras to be erected to support the local shopping precinct.
This work is expected to be completed by the end of August.
The team is working towards a network of CCTV cameras which will cover Napier’s entire commercial district in the next five years.
The Napier Assist service was launched in June 2022. An allocation of two years was originally forecast for the design and implementation of a mobile digital reporting tool to allow for collection of data for reporting purposes (amongst other uses) and to support the Napier Assist/Āwhina Tāngata service growth. This was delivered within the first month of establishing the patrols.
To date Napier Assist officers have filed over 2,500 interaction reports, while actively monitoring 92 CCTV cameras erected throughout Napier City.
The application used enables the Napier Assist Officers to write and submit reports from their work phones whilst out on patrol.
“This data highlights an upward trend in the 22/23 financial year with regards to the number of interactions with the homeless, however shoplifting and disorder in the CBD has not increased.”
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More like totalitarian spy systems… goodbye freedom