New CCTV Cameras in Eketāhuna help police to apprehend offender

Published 07 Nov 2022

With the help of new CCTV cameras in Eketāhuna, the NZ Police have been able to arrest a person wanted for serious crimes committed in Masterton and into the Eketāhuna area.  Only one day after the new CCTV cameras were installed, police were able to use the new cameras to determine the location of the wanted criminal, who had just stolen a vehicle from a local farming family during the night.

Eketāhuna has had CCTV cameras for about 15 years. It has recently expanded the CCTV coverage through Eketāhuna Our Town Incorporated Society, a local charity. This community-initiated CCTV project has been done with the support of the Eketāhuna Community Board, Tararua District Council and the New Zealand Police, following increasing crime in rural New Zealand and affecting the Tararua District.

Eketāhuna Police Officer, Constable Jymahl Glassey, said “the new CCTV was vital in determining the location of the offender. Without the new cameras police would not have caught the person. A local family were physically confronted and threatened in the middle of the night and had their car stolen. Within 50 minutes of the robbery police were able to apprehend the offender hiding behind a commercial property in Eketāhuna."

CCTV systems have been installed over many years in a number of towns across the Tararua District. These promote community safety and deter criminal activity, vandalism and other issues that can cost individuals and rate-payers a lot of money.  Council supports most of our towns for advice or management to communities that have decided to install CCTV systems. This is to ensure that the system is functioning and professionally managed, and is compliant with the Privacy Act 2020 and purpose of the system.

Signs indicate the start of the areas being covered by CCTV, and cameras are in prominent places. If a crime is reported, then the Police may use the system to help them with their enquiries.