24-hour watch on Airlie Beach

Next time you are walking down Airlie’s main street, think twice before you toss your cigarette butt in the gutter or do anything that might be misconstrued as antisocial behaviour, because within a few months there will be surveillance cameras recording every single thing that goes on.

Around-the-clock CCTV has been on the agenda of local police and the Whitsunday Regional Council for the better part of four years, this week taking a step forward with the two parties meeting up to discuss the location of the devices.

Cannonvale Police Acting Senior Sergeant and officer in charge Brad Teys said the joint venture had been revamped now to take in the redevelopment of the main street and hoped the surveillance system would be up and running within six months.

“There will be a minimum of three cameras which will send footage to a number of locations including council and the local police stations. Whether or not they’re monitored 24-hours a day will depend but the fact is the footage will be able to be reviewed immediately should there be a crime,” Snr Sgt Teys said.

Mr Teys said the three cameras would take in the main night club precinct and rotate to shoot every angle in the street.

Sergeant Teys met with Whitsunday Regional Council’s manager transport and major projects Edwin Mendoza , Information technology and communication team leader Lisa Stanley and IT & C Support Officer Michael Farrell on Monday morning to discuss where the cameras would be placed.

Reaction from Airlie businesses was mixed with Mama Africa’s Nicole Crofskey welcoming the initiative.

“We have a lot of broken windows around town and nobody knows who does it. We have cameras here in the inside of our courtyard area but on the outside we can’t tell, so it will be good in that case,” Ms Crofskey said.

However she was curious how police and council would determine who the people were just by the footage. “Unless they are known to police it might be difficult to determine who people are. At three in the morning they are going to be on foot, so there will be no cars etc for police to take number plates from,” Ms Crofskey said.

Kerrie Suckling also thought it was a bit rich having 24-hour footage streaming live, querying the cost.

“I understand between 9pm and 5am but do we need it right throughout the day? I am just thinking about the cost.”