Would you feel more of less safe with a camera on every corner?
In the last five years the amount of government and local council owned CCTV cameras has almost doubled in all major cities.
There are now almost five and a half thousand in Auckland, the majority of which are owned by Auckland Transport, 560 in wellington, 380 in Hamilton - with all of them sharing technology between police, local government and transport agencies.
Auckland Central Police Acting inspector Mark Clayton says when they do monitor the cameras it's for a specific reason.
“Especially in [Auckland] Central Business District with the incidents that take place, it is another tool in our belt, and it is used quite regularly.”
He says the cameras are used primarily for safety.
“For us, it’s not about monitoring the public constantly, it’s about being able to respond to incidents that take place and our camera operators can do that with just one phone call.”
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