An Ashburton District councillor is wants a sharper focus on CCTV cameras to deter crime and catch criminals.
Councillor Phill Hooper said there is a need for the council to invest in security cameras, it just needs to be worth the investment and good value for money.
Ashburton District Council already has CCTV cameras in the CBD, some public toilets and in popular domains and public spaces but has had past issues with identifying offenders caught on camera.
The council spent $85,000 in 2024/25 on its CCTV network.
Hooper said council may need a closer look at cameras in the next long-term plan.
“I think we need to discuss our goals with cameras and then decide how much we want to spend to achieve those goals.
“We can’t have cameras everywhere, but I think you need some as a deterrent.
“I’m not sure that spending more would equal a better result.”
The council’s CCTV network came under scrutiny earlier this year when it failed to help identify the person who dumped a dead wallaby in the centre of town.
The council reported that the CCTV footage captured a 4-wheel drive vehicle entering the West St car park and a person dragging a wallaby over the rail crossing to the timber seating next to the public toilets on East St.
The vehicle was too far away to clearly identify, and the person dragging the wallaby was wearing dark clothing and unable to be identified.
It raised questions during the council’s annual plan budgets a week later on what was being spent on CCTV and if it was cost-effective.
Compliance and development general manager Ian Hyde said those concerns were part of the negotiations of a new contract.
“A number of topics were discussed, including around the processes to ensure that equipment is regularly reviewed and updated as required,” Hyde said.
The contractor is responsible for ensuring the cameras are fit for purpose.
“Routine reviews are scheduled with the contractor to make sure cameras and systems are operating as expected and required.
“CCTV cameras are a useful tool used both to deter anti-social behaviour, as well as helping to provide information following an incident,” Hyde said.
Hooper said he hoped the latest camera technology was being used so they can pass-on quality images of offenders to police, which can then result in prosecutions and a reduction in vandalism.
For any prosecution, the CCTV footage has to provide an identifiable image to police.
That was an issue in the wallaby incident, partly because, Hyde said, the culprit was “wearing a hoodie with the hood over their head”.
A cubicle was set alight at Rakaia’s public toilets, near the salmon, in an early morning incident in March 2024, with the damage estimated to be around $6500.
CCTV footage captured the offenders entering the cubicle, but police were unable to identify who they were.
The council spent $85,000 in 2024/25 on its CCTV network, which covers five cameras in the Ashburton central business district as well as others at Te Whare Whakatere (council building and library), EA Networks Centre, Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum, Ashburton Domain, Tinwald Domain, clock tower, Baring Square East, resource recovery sites at Ashburton, Methven, Rakaia and Pendarves, public toilets at Ashburton, Methven, Rakaia and Hinds, Ashburton Cemetery, and the Wilkins Road wastewater plant.
