Closed-circuit television cameras will soon be zooming in on criminals in Dunedin's lower Octagon, if a $200,000 proposal to be considered by the Dunedin City Council next week is adopted.
Members of the City Safety Leaders' Forum - comprising Mayor Peter Chin, council chief executive Jim Harland, police and Ministry of Justice representatives - have recommended the cameras be installed in the centre of Dunedin.
Their recommendation will be presented in a report to the council's planning and environment committee meeting on Monday.
Members of the leaders' forum agreed the cameras would contribute to public safety, in conjunction with other initiatives, the report to councillors said.
"As a result of the development and popularity of the Octagon over recent years there has been a significant increase in the density of activity in the area, which coupled with intoxication levels and pedestrian activity results in disorder and violence from time to time."
The cameras could help iden-tify potential trouble as it developed, allowing preventive steps to be taken, or be used to investigate crimes after the fact, the report said.
Cameras could also enhance the public's perception of the Octagon as a safe place and help deter criminal behaviour.
Up to 10 cameras would be needed initially to provide effective coverage of the lower Octagon's key nighttime pedestrian areas, at a cost of between $160,000 to $200,000.
However, cost estimates were "indicative only" and further cost analysis work would be needed if the scheme proceeded, the report said.
Once installed, images would be transmitted by fibre optic cabling to the nearby Dunedin central police station, where they would be monitored remotely by volunteers trained by police.
The preferred funding option was to include the scheme's cost in the 2009-10 annual plan, although external funding sources - such as gaming machine and local charitable trusts - could be investigated.
Operational costs could also be covered by the council's city safety budget, the report said.
The system should also be designed to be easily expanded in order to monitor other areas of the city.
Members of the leaders' forum have been considering cameras since late 2006, and an earlier report had questioned their benefits - citing evidence of little or no change in levels of resolved crime in cities that already had them.
However, members of the leaders' forum now agreed that "while the merits of CCTV are debatable . . . it does make a positive contribution toward the perception of safety".
Dunedin police have also supported their introduction, with Detective Senior Sergeant Steve McGregor - the officer jointly in charge of the Dunedin CIB - telling the Otago Daily Times in June the cameras were needed to effectively fight crime.
If approved, the cameras would be installed on existing street light and signal poles and would be "unobtrusive".
The proposal will be considered during Monday's planning and environment committee meeting, and a recommendation made to the next full council meeting on December 15.
