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Closed-circuit television, or CCTV, is a method of recording the events that occur in a specific area. In particular, the cameras are used to monitor criminal activity. One of the largest users of CCTV in the world is the United Kingdom, which, according to Big Brother Watch, a privacy pressure group in the UK, has over 51,000 CCTV cameras controlled by local authorities alone.

The Dunedin City Council has 14 CCTV cameras recording footage of the Octagon, day and night. The cameras constantly record the actions of those who frequent the CBD. According to the Dunedin City Council website, during “busy times, such as Friday and Saturday nights, [CCTV cameras] are monitored by trained volunteers working under police supervision.” Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull said, “according to police, [the cameras have] had a salutary effect in the Octagon.”

Cull said that due to the success of the Octagon cameras (introduced in 2010) and the problems of disobedience in North Dunedin, there have been discussions about extending CCTV to parts of the area. “It was a suggestion made by one councillor in response to some of the issues that have arisen [in North Dunedin].”

Cull called a summit around a week ago and invited the CEO of Otago Polytechnic and the vice-chancellor of Otago University. CCTV expansion “was mentioned but no one has got to a solutions stage yet, we’re more talking about achieving consensus on what the issues are,” said Cull.

CCTV makes it easier for criminals to be detected, identified and prosecuted. Dunedin City Councillor David Benson-Pope said it is “hard to catch the one person behind five others who lobs a bottle at a cop,” but this could be easier with CCTV.

“I think if we don’t get hold of [the problems currently caused in North Dunedin] … it is inevitable that there will be a proliferation of cameras to give people the ease of getting evidence,” said Pope. With student behaviour called into question following Orientation Week, more and more people are eager to see the programme extended into the student quarters to manage the disobedience there. Lee Vandervis of the DCC was of this opinion: “we need police to put some of their CCTV cameras [in Dunedin North], because of the extreme cost of some of the vandalism.”

If CCTV in North Dunedin is part of the future plan for the area, the cost to ratepayers will be a significant issue to consider. The network of Octagon cameras installed in 2010 cost around $200,000. Of this, $150,000 came from ratepayers and the rest was from community organisations.

According to Cull, one of the key considerations is “whether you feed it to monitors with people watching or whether you just record.” This is an issue because of the significant cost difference between the two options.

Another issue raised by Dunedin City Councillor Hillary Calvert is that of CCTV cameras’ ability to prevent criminal behaviour. She stated: “If you knew if you threw bottles you would have a picture of yourself quite clearly on CCTV and someone would come and pick you up and charge you with [an offence] … you wouldn’t do it. Or you certainly wouldn’t do it twice.”

However, not everyone is keen to see this programme executed. One issue for such a move is about the fairness of the implementation. North Dunedin is an electorate populated largely by youths. 15–29 year olds currently make up 37 per cent of residents, compared to the national average of 19 per cent in New Zealand electorates.

Some have reservations that expanding Dunedin’s CCTV from the Octagon to cover North Dunedin will create a “surveillance state” for the area. This is an issue MP David Clark is openly cautious of.

“I’m sure there might be odd occasions where a CCTV camera can assist if there have been a lot of assaults or other serious crime, as then it would be hard to oppose it,” said Clark. However, “I would be wary about a blanket surveillance initiative. I think that stifles freedoms and protests and any number of other things you find in a democracy.”

Pope agreed on this point, “I would prefer to avoid the proliferation of cameras if we can … If we can sort out [the problems of North Dunedin] by a combination of other means we would be better to do that.”

Cull said the caution surrounding a possible surveillance state is a “perfectly legitimate concern.” However, “we are not putting it in people’s bedrooms, we’re talking about public places. So it is nothing that police or Campus Watch cannot do already.”

Another problem with such a move is who controls the footage once it is recorded. Hillary Calvert has stressed that she would like to see CCTV implemented but she is “against CCTV cameras that are put up by any authority.” Calvert said this includes the university and police.

“The police have access to [the Octagon CCTV recordings] and they would be able to put out, for everyone’s understanding, what problems there are at any particular time of night. They don’t, they choose not to. They can pick and choose [what to reveal],” said Calvert.

“While I’m very positive about information for everyone in the public place, I’m not at all positive about the university or the police having information that they can then pick and choose about whether they share it and which pieces they share, so they can edit it or not share it. That’s a really bad plan,” she said.

Jon Heslop, a third-year university student and 2014 resident on Castle Street, is wary of the potential damage to the cameras, “The [CCTV cameras] would be the first thing to be vandalised. “People don’t like being watched. For most, Castle Street is their first taste of freedom, away from parents, teachers and RAs,” he said.

“Putting cameras around the streets is imposing that sense of supervision again. Castle Street has a law of its own, which is do what you want, but don’t be a dick; Campus Watch understand this, the police understand this, but I don’t think the proctor, armed with video tapes of our activities, will get it. I’ve never felt threatened on Castle, or in Dunedin in general, and I don’t see why CCTV is necessary. If lighting a couch just requires spray-painting a camera lens then you bet it will keep occurring.”

Otago Director of Student Services Karyn Thomson says the university cannot form a
view until it receives details of what the DCC is intending to propose. In regards to student safety, Thomson said “The university has sought to reduce problem behaviour through a number of initiatives, including Campus Watch’s pastoral care and the Code of Student Conduct.” Additionally, they “have worked closely with the Otago University Students’ Association over recent years to promote more moderate drinking and responsible behaviour by students.”

“In most instances,” says Thomson, “the majority of our students conduct themselves in an appropriate manner, but there has always been a minority whose antisocial behaviour is unacceptable. Activities such as lighting fires, breaking glass bottles and the like will not be tolerated as they greatly endanger their own or others’ safety and well-being.” Thomson says each case is “dealt with separately,” but consequences can range “from warnings to expulsion.”

OUSA President Paul Hunt said, “[OUSA] do not support surveillance in North Dunedin. Often, you can’t actually use CCTV footage to prosecute [offenders]. It’s very difficult to an catch arsonist when they operate in enclosed spaces.”

“What the research shows on CCTV is that at the very start of its implementation you might have a very small deterrence affect. But then after that point, the benefits become negligible and people who want to deliberately commit crimes go elsewhere,” said Hunt.

Cull concludes: “If it can make people safer, and help prevent or detect arsons, then it’s a tool to be considered.” A decision is yet to be made.