WAGGA police believe the roll out of 25 CCTV cameras across the CBD will shine a light on crime that may otherwise go undetected.
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Superintendent Bob Noble welcomed the project, headed by Wagga City Council (WWCC) and Committee 4 Wagga (C4W) at the official launch yesterday.
“My experience (in other commands) has been that its a very valuable tool and we do prosecute a number of matters that we may not get a brief on because of the existence of these sort of facilities,” Superintendent Bob Noble said.
“From a law enforcement perspective, it could well represent a breakthrough for the city.”
Cameras across Station Place, Baylis Street, Fitzmaurice Street and the Gurwood Street taxi rank send live footage back to the police station, where purpose-trained officers can monitor in the event of an accident or at peak times.
Superintendent Noble believes the cameras will be a deterrent to crime and aid in investigations ahead of prosecuting.
“It won’t be too difficult to determine its effectiveness in terms of the amount of requests we’re putting through for the footage to be produced at court, so that might be one indicator to determine by which how effective it’s been or what the uptake is,” he said.
Though Wagga police, described by the union as the most understaffed and under-resourced command in the state, have been granted some respite under the project, the value of an officer can’t be replaced.
“You will never replace the actual body of a police officer going out and doing the business, engaging with the community, engaging with criminals, working on the beat … so if we need a few more police, this is not necessarily going to sway those concerns and should we be granted more police, we would take them with open arms,” Superintendent Noble said.
The $1.1 million project is funded by state and federal grants, WWCC and C4W.
Mayor Rod Kendall said WWCC would be responsible for ongoing maintenance costs on top of its initial $471,435 commitment.
Riverina MP Michael McCormack said the project would enhance community safety.
He hoped CCTV would curb significant crime but also help prosecute smaller crimes like graffiti to businesses.
Wagga MP Daryl Maguire gave the project a resounding thumbs up and said the project illustrated how all levels of government and community could work together to tackle crime.
