Kawerau has been awarded $160,000 central government funding for CCTV cameras and monitoring.

Minutes of the recently renamed Community Safety Committee – previously called the Crime Reduction Forum – were received at a Kawerau District Council meeting this week, which included an update on the cameras.

Regulatory and planning group manager Michaela Glaspey said the funding had been applied for and distributed to member councils around the Bay of Plenty by council-owned, shared services and procurement company BOPLASS.

The number of cameras that the funding would pay for was yet to be determined, but the minutes recorded that three cameras with number plate recognition capacity would be placed on Waterhouse Street, the mill overpass and State Highway 34, where it meets Valley Road.

Part of the funding incuded monitoring of the cameras for one year, which would be carried out by Te Puke’s Tarnix Security.

Kawerau currently has about 20 cameras that monitor the central business district, which can be accessed by Kawerau Police.

The council will discuss numbers, placement and monitoring of CCTV cameras further at a workshop on November 6.

The Crime Reduction Forum has been active in the community for some time but has only recently begun making minutes available through public council meetings.

The community committee is facilitated by the council with membership from Kawerau Police, Kawerau Community Patrol, Kawerau Corrections and Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau Hauora.

Deputy mayor Aaron Rangihika, who chairs the committee, said Kawerau Neighbourhood Support had recently agreed to become members.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.