RURAL cameras will be on the agenda in a meeting in Aria next Wednesday. FILE PHOTO
A MEETING is being held next week to gather the Aria community’s thoughts on safety and security in the area, particularly around the potential of installing security cameras. Organiser Jacky Fitzgerald contacted rural security company Farmgate after she read something about them in a rural magazine and thought Aria could benefit from their products. Jacky worked for the police for 28 years and lives in Aria, so has an interest in finding ways to keep her community safe.
ALWAYS RURAL CRIME “There’s always rural crime and it’s about people looking after themselves, but it’s about the community looking after people too,” she said. “There’s the basics like take the keys out of your vehicle, lock things up and this is just another security layer on top of that.” She said it was very early days and the meeting would be to gauge if there was interest in the community purchasing the cameras at all. Discussion would also be needed about how to make the purchase a sustainable one in terms of ongoing costs. The meeting at 7pm on Wednesday at the Aria Cosmopolitan Club was an opportunity to discuss farm security in general, with local police constable Tony Schrafft, rural safety officer Collette Corley and Commsafe/Neighbourhood support’s Mandy Merson scheduled to attend.
PLACING CAMERAS “It’s about having a meeting to see if we can get some people to come on board, look at where we actually do place the cameras for maximum impact and whether we can afford the cost and ongoing cost,” Jacky said. Farmgate has provided a “pretty good deal” for the cameras, should the community be in favour of purchasing them, and representatives from the company are expected to give a presentation at the meeting.
ENCOURAGING “We’re encouraging the community to come down and discuss it. “It’s an open discussion really to see if it’s something our community can be involved in,” Jacky said. “We may or may not go ahead because it’s a significant cost, but what cost is replacing your motorbike or your vehicle? “It is about just keeping people safer in their homes.” Jacky said she didn’t have any specific statistics, but crime was something that was alive and well in rural communities. “We all tend to keep an eye out for strange vehicles but don’t always do anything about it.
POLICE ACCESS The cameras were one way the community could do something with that information, without actually having to do anything manually because police would have access to the footage. “Or if you see a strange vehicle up your road, write the rego down, have a look at it and ring the police.” Similar conversations are underway in Ōtorohanga about the potential of installing CCTV in public places, including every road in and out of town and key places in the central business area. At a town security meeting in August, businesspeople indicated that they agreed in principle with the concept of the cameras but concerns were raised with how they would be paid for (King Country News, August 25, 2022).
