Introduction
The Christchurch City Council supported by the Christchurch Police has installed closed circuit television "crime prevention" cameras in the central city area, which will be monitored from the Christchurch Central Police Station. The first operational volunteer shift started a 7:00 PM 8th of August 1996.

Objective
The objective of the camera installation is to ensure members of the community feel safe and secure when visiting the central city area of Christchurch. Aligned with this stated objective is the aim of effecting a reduction in the incidence of criminal offending through the monitoring of selected areas.

Volunteer Staff
Volunteer staff have been selected on their competency to monitor events and operate the equipment. They are persons of honesty and integrity and they ensure that any confidential information they observe or learn about is kept strictly confidential. All volunteer staff are required to sign a statement of confidentially and provide character references To be selected as a volunteer you must pass a Police Security Check, which is carried out by the officer in charge of the Crime Prevention Camera Section.

Training
Training is generally done on a monthly basis. These training sessions are based on a modular type system. Seminars are also conducted. The officer in charge approaches guest speakers. These guest speakers might be members of the Police or even qualified trainers from the community or the Royal New Zealand Police College. Their expertise and experience certainly gives volunteers particle knowledge. Which is very useful when making a critical decision while monitoring the cameras.