Dozens of volunteers recruited to watch out for criminal activity after success of pilot scheme during Rugby World Cup

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Authorities in a New Zealand city have recruited dozens of volunteers to monitor CCTV cameras as part of the fight against crime.

“I am a detail person. I notice things that are suspicious,” said Andrew Dinsdale, a former auditor for KPMG, who is one of 52 volunteers who watches Wellington’s inner-city CCTV cameras.

The volunteers were initially recruited to man CCTV monitors during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. But they have been so helpful Wellington council is recruiting more for this summer, and New Zealand police are planning “comprehensive” training, which will elevate volunteers’ knowledge above the basics of body language.

Dinsdale spends his four shifts a month scanning live monitors for wanted suspects and missing people, as well as taking notes on social problems such as begging and busking.

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If a fight breaks out, or a suspected drug trade is taking place, Dinsdale picks up his police radio, there for emergencies, and speaks to patrol cars and officers in the area.

If the issue is low-level or only slowly escalating, he’ll call a council “host” to intervene and defuse the situation on the ground.

It can get tense; which is why recruitment ads ask for “cool and calm” personalities.

“People really don’t realise they are being watched,” Dinsdale said. “That may sound nasty, but I’ve always believed if you have nothing to hide you have no problem with surveillance if it keeps everyone safe.”

Volunteers range from retirees to immigrants and wannabe police cadets – but they all have one thing in common.

“You have to be sceptical,” says Dinsdale. “And take nothing at face value.”

The toughest assignments, say volunteers, are when a wanted person starts running from police, and volunteers have to jump from screen to screen relaying their movements to police on the ground. With only 30 operating cameras, they often lose them.

“It’s tough when you’ve lost them and have to predict on which screen they’ll show up next,”said Dinsdale. “That’s when the adrenaline kicks in.”