Skate park security camera coming
AT least one security camera is to be installed at the Oamaru skate park, but exactly when that will happen is unknown.
Plans have been in place for several months to install a security camera at the skate park next to State Highway 1, the site of several incidents that have attracted police attention this year.
One such incident took place in February when a youth was reportedly injured during a brawl involving up to six young people, aged between 11 and 17, armed with weapons that included a knife, a metal wrench and a piece of wood.
It was hoped a security camera, which would be able to be monitored from the nearby Oamaru police station, would be installed before the start of the July school holidays, but that had not eventuated.
Oamaru police, the Waitaki District Council and Safer Waitaki were all involved in the project.
Late last month, Senior Sergeant Tony Woodbridge, of Oamaru, said the fact a camera had not yet been installed was disappointing.
Waitaki District Council community safety and development facilitator Helen Algar said while no firm date for the camera’s installation had been confirmed, the equipment was in Oamaru and a pole was being fabricated to mount the camera on.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher planned to discuss the issue with police at a meeting next week and expected the camera would be installed in the near future.
‘‘It’s been an ongoing initiative, but certainly one where the ball is in our court rather than the one of the police as such.
‘‘They are obviously the partner in deciding where the cameras need to go and obviously they have the ability to monitor it down at the police station, so we will certainly be working closely with them on that.’’
He said it would help give skate park users and their families ‘‘some peace of mind that there was something there to help monitor’’ potentially dangerous situations.