The warning comes with a list of six broad principles to be considered on Monday by councillors at the Dunedin City Council finance and strategy committee meeting on governing the use of the $205,000 camera system.
The 14 cameras - a joint safety project involving the council, Dunedin police and Ministry of Justice - are being installed in the Octagon this week, and are expected go live from November 4.
However, among the rules governing their use is one warning volunteers monitoring the images that they will have to explain themselves if an audit detects they singled out an individual member of the public for unwarranted scrutiny.
Dunedin-Clutha area commander Inspector Dave Campbell told the Otago Daily Times the rule aimed to prevent volunteers from spying on a neighbour or following the movements of an attractive person.
Volunteers monitoring the images would not be able to remotely zoom or tilt the cameras, but would be able to enlarge small sections of what appeared on their screens, he said.
"Obviously we don't want people to monitor members of the public because they might know the person, or they might be a neighbour, or whatever.
"Monitors have to have a good reason if they want to track the movements of a particular person," he said.
A report to Monday's meeting, by council customer advocate Adrian Blair, outlined the principles.
They included the fair use of the cameras, which would be used only within relevant laws, for the purposes the system was established, and with "due regard" for privacy and civil liberties.
Police and the council would be jointly responsible for the cameras' proper operation, and information clearly provided about the cameras.
Volunteers would also be vetted and trained by police, and images stored securely and deleted after a specified time unless required for evidence.
Insp Campbell said police had so far found 44 volunteers to monitor the cameras, including 33 people from community patrols in Dunedin and Mosgiel and 11 police recruits awaiting vacancies at police college.
All volunteers would face "pretty stringent" vetting and training by police, but it was preferable to work - initially at least - with people already familiar with police operations, he said.
It was expected the volunteers would work three-hour shifts in teams of two, from 10pm to 4am on Friday and Saturday, and be called on about every two months, he said.
Monitors would be positioned in the police watchhouse and the senior sergeant's office. Images would be constantly recorded and watchhouse staff would keep tabs on the images outside volunteers' hours, he said.
The cameras would focus on areas outside the lower Octagon's bars, which were trouble hotspots, as well as part of the upper Octagon around the taxi rank, and along George St to nearby Bath St, Mr Blair's report showed.
They would not cover central parts of the lower Octagon, the central carriageway, or upper Octagon near the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Hoyts movie theatre.
Insp Campbell said the coverage was "a good place to start", but he hoped the system could be expanded to other CBD hotspots in the future.
"It's also to provide reassurance to the public that someone is actually watching over them," he said.
