Thousands of surveillance cameras are spread across Auckland. Photo / Wang Gang
Thousands of surveillance cameras are spread across Auckland. Photo / Wang Gang
High-tech speed cameras are being tested in Matakana, adding to Auckland’s extensive surveillance network.
The NZ Transport Agency is taking over police speed cameras, with changes expected by June 2025.
Police and shop owners praise the increased use of cameras as a crime deterrent but critics worry about automated data gathering and potential tracking without good reason.
A new wave of high-tech speed cameras is being tested in Matakana, adding to the tens of thousands of surveillance cameras watching over greater Auckland.
Supporters say the growth of camera surveillance has made the city a safer place, especially as a deterrent against crime in the central city.But critics say we need greater oversight of the data they collect and what it is being used for.
So how many cameras are operating in New Zealand’s biggest city and is their use justified?
A Herald investigation in 2022 suggested an estimated 400,000 security cameras nationally, not counting cellphones, dashboard cameras, laptops, webcams, and other devices.
Dozens of Official Information requests found about 10,000 cameras across New Zealand’s 78 local, regional, and unitary councils.
Auckland Council recently told the Herald it has about 2000 cameras at 160 sites across the city, watching over community facilities such as libraries, pools, leisure centres, animal shelters, and some parks. Other sites include the council’s corporate headquarters and local board offices.
Auckland Transport has a mix of security and speed cameras, including nearly 400 safety and security cameras in the CBD, and about 4700 CCTV cameras monitoring bus, rail, ferry, road, cycling, and parking facilities.
The numbers rise when you add private-sector cameras at banks, ATMs, shops, fast-food outlets, bars, cafes, petrol stations, office buildings, and apartment blocks.
Fixed speed cameras, now known as ‘safe speed cameras’, are located across Auckland. The cameras use a radar system that measures vehicle speed and a flash for nighttime photography. They are typically contained in a rectangular box hung on poles.
A fixed speed camera.
Red light
About 45 red light cameras operate at Auckland intersections using radars to track and capture vehicles running the red light. They are contained in a rectangular box positioned ahead of the light. The cameras are operated by Auckland Transport, and enforced by the police. The fine for running a red light is $150.
A red light enforcement camera at a busy Auckland intersection. Picture / Michael Craig
CCTV
CCTV cameras operate throughout the city on private and public property. They are on board public transport, roads and parking buildings. Auckland Transport does not use facial recognition or capture audio. A range of cameras are in use.
Halo
Another advanced technology camera is being turned on in Auckland, called ‘Halo’ that can capture a wide range of data from vehicle speed to heat mapping.
The first of these cameras was installed on a dangerous stretch of road at Kawakawa in Northland in March.
The first 'Halo' speed camera was installed on SH1 between Kawakawa and Moerewa. Photo / David Fisher
The cameras use automated number plate recognition (ANPR) and capture vehicle speed, date, time, location, direction, lane digital images of the vehicle, and whether it is a car or truck, says NZTA regulatory strategic programmes head Tara Macmillan.
The first ‘Halo 2′ camera in Auckland is being tested on Matakana Rd to determine the average speed between two points. Five other locations across Auckland are also in line for the new average speed cameras, which NZTA expects to operate from mid-2025.
Those locations are East Coast Rd, Redvale; Kahikatea Flat Rd, Dairy Flat; Glenbrook Rd East, Karaka/Kingseat’; Glenbrook Rd West, Glenbrook; Whitford Rd, Shamrock Park/Whitford.
Macmillan said NZTA has not tested and has no plans to use ‘Halo Edge’ cameras that can capture mobile or seatbelt use, and heat mapping of occupants.
This comes as NZTA has been looking at camera capabilities as part of taking over the police network of about 150 speed cameras on highways.
A Privacy Impact Assessment for NZTA warned the agency it needed to take people with it on its journey to safer highways.
“Although cameras and recording devices are ubiquitous in our society, these tools are viewed as intrusive and potentially generate emotive commentary alleging unwarranted surveillance systems,” it said.
The switch from about 40 speed cameras in Auckland from the police to NZTA is expected to be complete in June of next year, each of which will have speed camera signs with the Government now focusing on enforcement rather than raising revenue.
Transport Minister Simeon Brown said the signage would “provide Kiwis with an opportunity to check their speed and slow down in high crash areas — avoiding speeding tickets and the more tragic consequences of speeding”.
NZ Council for Civil Liberties chairman Thomas Beagle does not see a lot of problems with high-tech cameras capturing people not wearing seat belts or on their phones but questions building big databases of information from number plate recognition.
NZ Council For Civil Liberties chairman Thomas Beagle says people should not be tracked and spied on in their day-to-day lives without good reason. Photo / Mark Mitchell.
He said the police have had ANPR cameras since 2016, as well as AT, supermarkets, and casinos.
“What you have got is a de facto vehicle location tracking service — a person-tracking service.
“We have this general principle that people should not be tracked and spied on in their day-to-day life without good reason. And a good reason isn’t about things, like not having a warrant,” said Beagle.
There had to be some oversight as to how the captured footage was used while using the benefits of catching criminals, he said.
Privacy commissioner Michael Webber says the increasing creep of cameras and the motivation of people using them is the top issue causing people to seek advice from his office.
“Cameras and recording devices are omnipresent on peoples’ phones, in shops, businesses, and on the street and it’s important people understand their privacy rights around their use in various locations.”
“Can I record someone without telling them,” he said, is the number one question his office hears and another frequently asked question is “Is my neighbour allowed to film our property with a security camera”.
A set of CCTV cameras, off Karangahape Rd in the Auckland CBD. Photo / Michael Craig
Webster said it is understandable people are increasingly concerned about the implications of being filmed and the risks this could present.
“It’s good that people are checking the rules about recording people as it indicates increasing awareness of the privacy implications and the importance of people’s privacy rights. But on the flip side, it also reflects the increasing prevalence of people being filmed without their knowledge or consent,” he said.
AT says CCTV footage is stored in secure data centres for seven days, after which the footage is over-written. Metadata with identifying details removed is kept longer to improve network efficiency.
The agency said its technology does not use facial recognition or capture audio, and only approved staff can operate or access the CCTV system.
Of Auckland Council’s 2000 cameras, 256 are placed at eight sites in the CBD. More than 100 cameras are inside and outside the Auckland headquarters in Albert St and a second council building, Bledisloe House.
Other sites include Albert Park(27 cameras), Myers Park(4) Central City Library(72), Ellen Melville Centre(24), Tepid Baths(7) and Auckland Town Hall(11).
Auckland Council has 27 security cameras in Albert Park.
“The city centre’s extensive network of public and private CCTV is part of a coordinated system to support safety here, including more police on the beat, wardens and security guards,” says Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck.
“They are used very effectively to assist with resolving crime and we continue to get positive feedback about the role they play. They can also be a useful deterrent and enable proactive identification of issues that may be brewing.”
Beck is critical of AT’s use of speed cameras along a stretch of Queen St closed to cars.
“The $150 fine is outrageous and continues to ping unsuspecting visitors, sometimes twice on the same occasion. It is seen by many as a revenue grab by AT and to make matters worse, sales in the vicinity are down by more than the money AT has earned,” said Beck, who wants the practice stopped, at least until the City Rail Link opens in 2026.
Detective Inspector Scott Beard. Photo / George Heard
The extensive use of public and private CCTV footage in cities such as Auckland can be seen in the true crime documentary, The Lie: The Murder of Grace Millane, which pieces together the movements of the man who murdered the English backpacker.
The policeman who led the investigation, Detective Inspector Scott Beard, said detectives analysed hundreds of hours of CCTV to piece together the events leading up to and following the murder.
“It was an important investigative tool, which greatly assisted in bringing the case to a resolution.”
Beard said CCTV cameras were both an investigative tool and a crime deterrent, along with good environmental design, lighting, visibility, and signage.
He said the ‘vGRID SaferCity’ platform provides police with access to live-only visual information from CCTV video cameras shared by the community to enhance public safety.
The platform has been used by the police since 2015. The police or SaferCities — a collaboration between the public and private sector — do not store live CCTV footage.
Beard said the police can make requests to the community for historical footage, from community CCTV systems, through the platform’s vGRID VAULT functionality.
Bernard Orsman is an award-winning reporter who has been covering Auckland’s local politics and transport since 1998. Before that, he worked in the parliamentary press gallery for six years.
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