CCTV signs - usage inconsistencies in Queenstown - why?
Peter W French made this Official Information request to Queenstown-Lakes District Council
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From: Peter W French
Dear Queenstown-Lakes District Council,
This request seeks clarification from the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) with regard to apparent anomalies in its displaying of CCTV ("closed-circuit television", "video surveillance") signage, as indicated by the following information that relates to two CCTV cameras:
"CCTV IN OPERATION PARKING FINES WILL BE ISSUED" yellow-background CCTV sign:
This CCTV sign can be seen at some - but not all - areas in Queenstown where motorists can receive infringement notices (fines) due to their vehicle being recorded by a CCTV camera. An example is outside "Decode" (13 Camp Street, Queenstown), as shown in this Google Maps image (Aug 2019): https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-45.03220... . At that location there is also an additional blue-background CCTV sign that states something like "THESE PARKS ARE BEING WATCHED 24/7 If you park here against the rules, you'll get a fine. CCTV cameras are now in operation in this area." The presence of two CCTV signs makes this a particularly good example of how motorists can be warned of the presence of a CCTV camera.
Looking further back in time at that location, only the yellow-background CCTV sign - without the blue-background CCTV sign - can be seen in this Google Maps image (Sep 2018): https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-45.03211... . One of the CCTV cameras in this area can be seen at the top right of this image. That camera is named "Decode Loading Zone" in Queenstown Lakes District Council's list of CCTV cameras here: https://qldc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instan... .
As a rhetorical question, I wonder: Why was an additional blue-background CCTV sign added to that location during the 12-month period of September 2018 to August 2019? Another rhetorical question is: Was the single yellow-background CCTV sign regarded as insufficient notification of CCTV in operation?
And no CCTV sign can be seen at that location in this even earlier Google Maps image (May 2018): https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-45.03218... . There is no CCTV camera in this image, either, suggesting that the CCTV camera was installed during the five-month period from May 2018 to September 2018. As CCTV signage was also put in place by September 2018, it suggests a "positive correlation" between the presence of a CCTV camera and the presence of CCTV signage. But I ask myself, is this "positive correlation" always the case? The following information answers that question.
ABSENCE OF "CCTV IN OPERATION PARKING FINES WILL BE ISSUED" yellow-background CCTV sign:
This CCTV sign - also the blue-background CCTV sign - cannot be seen at some areas in Queenstown where motorists can receive infringement notices (fines) due to their vehicle being recorded by a CCTV camera. One example (it is not the only example) of this absence of CCTV signage is at the two "PERMITTED SMALL PSV STANDS" signs at the "White + Wong's" location (50-52 Shotover Street, Queenstown), as shown in this Google Maps image (Oct 2023): https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0320551... .
I would have expected CCTV signs to be there because there is a CCTV camera that is in operation at that location. That camera can be seen on the left side of the above Google Maps (Oct 2023) image. That camera is named "Shotover St Taxi Stand" in Queenstown Lakes District Council's list of CCTV cameras here: https://qldc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instan... .
I note that the absence of such CCTV signage has been the situation for several years at that location, as shown in these Google Maps images: (March 2020, with CCTV camera in view) https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0321049... and (Aug 2019, with CCTV camera in view): https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0320726... .
The CCTV camera cannot be seen at that location in an even earlier Google Maps image (Sep 2018): https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0321013... . This suggests that the CCTV camera was installed during the 12-month period from September 2018 to August 2019. However - unlike the first example of "Decode" (13 Camp Street, Queenstown) - as CCTV signage cannot be seen, it does NOT suggest a "positive correlation" between the presence of a CCTV camera and the presence of CCTV signage.
The Privacy Commissioner states here https://www.privacy.org.nz/resources-2/p... that "All organisations considering using CCTV need to be mindful of their obligations under the Privacy Act 2020." And Queenstown Lakes District Council's "Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Policy" ["29-10-20"] here https://www.qldc.govt.nz/media/aujbk2kp/... [a link found via this link https://www.qldc.govt.nz/services/cctv-p... ] states: "Areas where cameras are installed will be clearly signposted to notify the public that a camera is or may be in operation. The signs should be large enough and located in such a way that people should know about the cameras before they are close enough to be filmed."
As CCTV signs are not always located in such a way that people know about the cameras before they are close enough to be filmed, there is inconsistency - CCTV signs at some locations but not at other locations - and an apparent unfairness - some motorists are warned of the presence of a CCTV camera while others are not. Motorists at some locations are issued fines without seeing a warning sign, that fines will be issued because a CCTV camera is in operation. In terms of the Official Information Act 1982, please advise why Queenstown Lakes District Council has for five or more years (from August 2019 or earlier) been inconsistent in its display of CCTV signage.
Yours faithfully,
P W French
From: QLDC Services
Queenstown-Lakes District Council
Thank you for taking the time to touch base with the Queenstown Lakes
District Council.
Should your enquiry be urgent, please phone Queenstown 03 441-0499 or
Wanaka 03 443-0024. Otherwise, your request will be forwarded to the
appropriate staff member or contractor to be actioned as soon as possible.
Warm Regards,
The QLDC Customer Services Team
From: QLDC Services
Queenstown-Lakes District Council
Hello, Kia ora,
Please see below this official information request regarding CCTV signs.
Can you please get back to the customer directly regarding their request.
Kind regards, Kā mihi
Suzie
+------------------------------------+
| QLDC Customer Service Team ||
| ||
| Queenstown Lakes District Council ||
| ||
| P: +64 3 441 0499 ||
| ||
| E: [1][Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email] ||
+------------------------------------+
From: [FOI #29071 email]
Sent: Tuesday, November 5, 2024 1:00 PM
To: [Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email]
Subject: Official Information request - CCTV signs - usage inconsistencies
in Queenstown - why?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Queenstown-Lakes District Council,
This request seeks clarification from the Queenstown Lakes District
Council (QLDC) with regard to apparent anomalies in its displaying of CCTV
("closed-circuit television", "video surveillance") signage, as indicated
by the following information that relates to two CCTV cameras:
"CCTV IN OPERATION PARKING FINES WILL BE ISSUED" yellow-background CCTV
sign:
This CCTV sign can be seen at some - but not all - areas in Queenstown
where motorists can receive infringement notices (fines) due to their
vehicle being recorded by a CCTV camera. An example is outside "Decode"
(13 Camp Street, Queenstown), as shown in this Google Maps image (Aug
2019):
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-45.03220...
. At that location there is also an additional blue-background CCTV sign
that states something like "THESE PARKS ARE BEING WATCHED 24/7 If you park
here against the rules, you'll get a fine. CCTV cameras are now in
operation in this area." The presence of two CCTV signs makes this a
particular
ly good example of how motorists can be warned of the presence of a CCTV
camera.
Looking further back in time at that location, only the yellow-background
CCTV sign - without the blue-background CCTV sign - can be seen in this
Google Maps image (Sep 2018):
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-45.03211...
. One of the CCTV cameras in this area can be seen at the top right of
this image. That camera is named "Decode Loading Zone" in Queenstown Lakes
District Council's list of CCTV cameras here:
https://qldc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instan...
.
As a rhetorical question, I wonder: Why was an additional blue-background
CCTV sign added to that location during the 12-month period of September
2018 to August 2019? Another rhetorical question is: Was the single
yellow-background CCTV sign regarded as insufficient notification of CCTV
in operation?
And no CCTV sign can be seen at that location in this even earlier Google
Maps image (May 2018):
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-45.03218...
. There is no CCTV camera in this image, either, suggesting that the CCTV
camera was installed during the five-month period from May 2018 to
September 2018. As CCTV signage was also put in place by September 2018,
it suggests a "positive correlation" between the presence of a CCTV camera
and the presence of CCTV signage. But I ask myself, is this "positive
correlation" always the case? The following information answers that
question.
ABSENCE OF "CCTV IN OPERATION PARKING FINES WILL BE ISSUED"
yellow-background CCTV sign:
This CCTV sign - also the blue-background CCTV sign - cannot be seen at
some areas in Queenstown where motorists can receive infringement notices
(fines) due to their vehicle being recorded by a CCTV camera. One example
(it is not the only example) of this absence of CCTV signage is at the two
"PERMITTED SMALL PSV STANDS" signs at the "White + Wong's" location (50-52
Shotover Street, Queenstown), as shown in this Google Maps image (Oct
2023):
https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0320551...
.
I would have expected CCTV signs to be there because there is a CCTV
camera that is in operation at that location. That camera can be seen on
the left side of the above Google Maps (Oct 2023) image. That camera is
named "Shotover St Taxi Stand" in Queenstown Lakes District Council's list
of CCTV cameras here:
https://qldc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instan...
.
I note that the absence of such CCTV signage has been the situation for
several years at that location, as shown in these Google Maps images:
(March 2020, with CCTV camera in view)
https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0321049...
and (Aug 2019, with CCTV camera in view):
https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0320726...
05410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D .
The CCTV camera cannot be seen at that location in an even earlier Google
Maps image (Sep 2018):
https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0321013...
. This suggests that the CCTV camera was installed during the 12-month
period from September 2018 to August 2019. However - unlike the first
example of "Decode" (13 Camp Street, Queenstown) - as CCTV signage cannot
be seen, it does NOT suggest a "positive correlation" between the presence
of a CCTV camera and the presence of CCTV signage.
The Privacy Commissioner states here
https://www.privacy.org.nz/resources-2/p... that "All
organisations considering using CCTV need to be mindful of their
obligations under the Privacy Act 2020." And Queenstown Lakes District
Council's "Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Policy" ["29-10-20"] here
https://www.qldc.govt.nz/media/aujbk2kp/...
[a link found via this link
https://www.qldc.govt.nz/services/cctv-p... ] states: "Areas where
cameras are installed will be clearly signposted to notify the public that
a camera is or may be in operation. The signs should be large enough and
located in such a way that people should know about the cameras before
they are close enough to be filmed."
As CCTV signs are not always located in such a way that people know about
the cameras before they are close enough to be filmed, there is
inconsistency - CCTV signs at some locations but not at other locations -
and an apparent unfairness - some motorists are warned of the presence of
a CCTV camera while others are not. Motorists at some locations are issued
fines without seeing a warning sign, that fines will be issued because a
CCTV camera is in operation. In terms of the Official Information Act
1982, please advise why Queenstown Lakes District Council has for five or
more years (from August 2019 or earlier) been inconsistent in its display
of CCTV signage.
Yours faithfully,
P W French
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From: Information Request
Queenstown-Lakes District Council
Kia ora
Ref- LG24/0265
Thank you for your request for official information request dated 5
November 2024.
Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is currently considering your
request and will communicate a decision to you by 3 December 2024 unless
otherwise advised.
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Ngā mihi,
Democracy Services
Corporate Services | Queenstown Lakes District Council
P: +64 3 441 0499
E: [1][email address]
P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
From: [FOI #29071 email]
Sent: Tuesday, November 5, 2024 1:00 PM
To: [Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email]
Subject: Official Information request - CCTV signs - usage inconsistencies
in Queenstown - why?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Queenstown-Lakes District Council,
This request seeks clarification from the Queenstown Lakes District
Council (QLDC) with regard to apparent anomalies in its displaying of CCTV
("closed-circuit television", "video surveillance") signage, as indicated
by the following information that relates to two CCTV cameras:
"CCTV IN OPERATION PARKING FINES WILL BE ISSUED" yellow-background CCTV
sign:
This CCTV sign can be seen at some - but not all - areas in Queenstown
where motorists can receive infringement notices (fines) due to their
vehicle being recorded by a CCTV camera. An example is outside "Decode"
(13 Camp Street, Queenstown), as shown in this Google Maps image (Aug
2019):
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-45.03220...
. At that location there is also an additional blue-background CCTV sign
that states something like "THESE PARKS ARE BEING WATCHED 24/7 If you park
here against the rules, you'll get a fine. CCTV cameras are now in
operation in this area." The presence of two CCTV signs makes this a
particular
ly good example of how motorists can be warned of the presence of a CCTV
camera.
Looking further back in time at that location, only the yellow-background
CCTV sign - without the blue-background CCTV sign - can be seen in this
Google Maps image (Sep 2018):
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-45.03211...
. One of the CCTV cameras in this area can be seen at the top right of
this image. That camera is named "Decode Loading Zone" in Queenstown Lakes
District Council's list of CCTV cameras here:
https://qldc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instan...
.
As a rhetorical question, I wonder: Why was an additional blue-background
CCTV sign added to that location during the 12-month period of September
2018 to August 2019? Another rhetorical question is: Was the single
yellow-background CCTV sign regarded as insufficient notification of CCTV
in operation?
And no CCTV sign can be seen at that location in this even earlier Google
Maps image (May 2018):
https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@-45.03218...
. There is no CCTV camera in this image, either, suggesting that the CCTV
camera was installed during the five-month period from May 2018 to
September 2018. As CCTV signage was also put in place by September 2018,
it suggests a "positive correlation" between the presence of a CCTV camera
and the presence of CCTV signage. But I ask myself, is this "positive
correlation" always the case? The following information answers that
question.
ABSENCE OF "CCTV IN OPERATION PARKING FINES WILL BE ISSUED"
yellow-background CCTV sign:
This CCTV sign - also the blue-background CCTV sign - cannot be seen at
some areas in Queenstown where motorists can receive infringement notices
(fines) due to their vehicle being recorded by a CCTV camera. One example
(it is not the only example) of this absence of CCTV signage is at the two
"PERMITTED SMALL PSV STANDS" signs at the "White + Wong's" location (50-52
Shotover Street, Queenstown), as shown in this Google Maps image (Oct
2023):
https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0320551...
.
I would have expected CCTV signs to be there because there is a CCTV
camera that is in operation at that location. That camera can be seen on
the left side of the above Google Maps (Oct 2023) image. That camera is
named "Shotover St Taxi Stand" in Queenstown Lakes District Council's list
of CCTV cameras here:
https://qldc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instan...
.
I note that the absence of such CCTV signage has been the situation for
several years at that location, as shown in these Google Maps images:
(March 2020, with CCTV camera in view)
https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0321049...
and (Aug 2019, with CCTV camera in view):
https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0320726...
05410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D .
The CCTV camera cannot be seen at that location in an even earlier Google
Maps image (Sep 2018):
https://www.google.com/maps/@-45.0321013...
. This suggests that the CCTV camera was installed during the 12-month
period from September 2018 to August 2019. However - unlike the first
example of "Decode" (13 Camp Street, Queenstown) - as CCTV signage cannot
be seen, it does NOT suggest a "positive correlation" between the presence
of a CCTV camera and the presence of CCTV signage.
The Privacy Commissioner states here
https://www.privacy.org.nz/resources-2/p... that "All
organisations considering using CCTV need to be mindful of their
obligations under the Privacy Act 2020." And Queenstown Lakes District
Council's "Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Policy" ["29-10-20"] here
https://www.qldc.govt.nz/media/aujbk2kp/...
[a link found via this link
https://www.qldc.govt.nz/services/cctv-p... ] states: "Areas where
cameras are installed will be clearly signposted to notify the public that
a camera is or may be in operation. The signs should be large enough and
located in such a way that people should know about the cameras before
they are close enough to be filmed."
As CCTV signs are not always located in such a way that people know about
the cameras before they are close enough to be filmed, there is
inconsistency - CCTV signs at some locations but not at other locations -
and an apparent unfairness - some motorists are warned of the presence of
a CCTV camera while others are not. Motorists at some locations are issued
fines without seeing a warning sign, that fines will be issued because a
CCTV camera is in operation. In terms of the Official Information Act
1982, please advise why Queenstown Lakes District Council has for five or
more years (from August 2019 or earlier) been inconsistent in its display
of CCTV signage.
Yours faithfully,
P W French
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #29071 email]
Is [Queenstown-Lakes District Council request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to Queenstown-Lakes District Council? If so, please contact us
using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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