Top cop backs ‘spy’ cameras

Alex de Vos
Torquay police are using hidden cameras to bust criminals, one of the town’s top cops has revealed.
Police Inspector Bill Mathers praised the installation of surveillance cameras around the region as he defended plans to use them in a crackdown on Point Impossible.
He said the cameras had helped solve criminal investigations on the coast.
“Police in Geelong and the Surf Coast have used surveillance cameras for criminal investigations,” Insp Mathers confirmed.
He rejected the attack of Liberty Victoria president and leading human rights activist Julian Burnside QC on surveillance cameras in the Independent earlier this month.
Mr Burnside opposed use of the cameras at Point Impossible, saying they were ineffective for catching criminals.
“CCTV has been demonstrated in Britain to be an expensive waste of money,” he said.
Insp Mathers disagreed.
“They won’t take you an inch closer to catching the criminals.”
Insp Mathers did not want to reveal where or when Torquay police used the cameras because he did not want to risk their effectiveness in investigations.
However, he welcomed Surf Coast Shire’s plan to install spy cameras at Point Impossible.
The shire plans to have the cameras in place before October as part of an ongoing bid to crack down on perverts meeting at the beach for sex.
Insp Mathers expected the cameras to be successful at Point Impossible.