OKEHAMPTON could become the first town of its size in the country to introduce cutting edge radio technology CCTV in its town centre, to help reduce vandalism and anti-social behaviour. The scheme to install 13 cameras in prominent locations around the town took a step forward on Monday with Okehampton Town Council giving its backing in principal to the proposal. Okehampton Chamber of Trade has been investigating the feasibility of introducing CCTV in the town for a number of years, and is now looking for various sources of funding towards the estimated cost of £70,000 to install a system. Cllr Kay Bickley, who has worked on the scheme for the chamber, introduced the proposal to her fellow councillors. She said: ?Okehampton is really quite a safe place to live according to the national figures. We want to keep it that way.? Mike Partington, system consultant for security firm ADT, told the council that Okehampton could be the first town of its size to use a radio transmission network in its town centre, as opposed to the expensive option of digging up roads to lay cabling. He said: ?Radio is tried and tested in military camps, but in town centre terms, we are breaking new ground.? He said Swindon already had a radio transmission system in its town centre, but for its size Okehampton could be the first town to introduce such a scheme. Mr Partington stressed that CCTV was not the ?be all and end all?, but it was an asset in the fight against crime. He said he had spoken to a number of people in the process of surveying the area to come up with a proposal and ?the majority of people seemed to think it was a good idea?. He added: ?The system is not going to be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but we will let the system do the work.? Mr Partington said the cameras could be programmed to switch direction to focus on certain areas at key times, such as outside the pubs and nightclub at closing time. He said the cameras would be small and unobtrusive, so to make the most of them as a deterrent. The council might wish to buy signage alerting people that CCTV was operating in the area they were entering. Crime reduction officer for West Devon, WPC Angie Frost, said CCTV was a ?great tool? as part of a range of measures to tackle vandalism and other anti-social behaviour. She said the police were also in the process of setting up a Pubwatch scheme which would involve licensees signing up to a new protocol, and an education campaign for young people on the dangers of excessive drinking to help reduce alcohol-fuelled disorder. WPC Frost said that in the Arcade, traders had got together to install their own CCTV system and this had proved to be a success. ?The introduction of cameras in the Arcade has led to the crime rate being slashed,? she said. WPC Frost said the CCTV system could have a number of possible uses: ?CCTV isn?t just there for crime, it could also help identify lost children or vulnerable elderly people.? Possible locations for cameras include Red Lion Yard (at all entrance points with a central camera panning the courtyard area); the town hall wall, Fore Street, East Street, St James Street and outside the Post Office. Cllr Christine Marsh said a CCTV system for the town centre had been talked about for several years and she was pleased to see the scheme was moving closer to being realised.
