THE first steps towards putting CCTV cameras in Okehampton town centre to aid the fight against anti-social behaviour are close to being taken. The working party developing a CCTV proposal is asking Okehampton and District Chamber of Trade at its meeting tonight (Thursday) to approve a phased approach to achieving the camera system. Town business leaders have already given backing in principle to the 12-unit scheme, but will now be asked to support going ahead with arrangements to place the first cluster of cameras in Red Lion Yard, as well as two further ones in Market Street and Fore Street, at a cost of around £20,000. Other cameras to cover the rest of the town centre would be added as part of the second and third phases. Pledges of funding for the CCTV scheme have already been made by Okehampton Town Council and the Okehampton United Non-Ecclesiastical Trust, but around £70,000 is needed in total to implement the full system. Kay Bickley, who has been involved from the outset in helping the chamber draw up its proposals, said: ?Because it is a very large amount of money to find, we are suggesting to the chamber, that having got roughly £20,000 now, we go for phase one of the project, and add in phases two and three when we get the money.? Mrs Bickley said as well as the backing of the chamber of trade, support from scheme partners Okehampton Town Council was also needed before they could begin with the phasing approach. ?The town council needs to take the lead at this particular stage and I hope we will have more discussions about the scheme at the council,? she said. Mrs Bickley hoped the council would take the lead because when it came to dealing with data protection and funding issues it was easier for a local authority to handle such matters. She said as well as capturing incidents of low level anti-social disruption in the town centre, the cameras might also show images of traffic incidents at the junction of Fore Street and Market Street. She said if the chamber and town council backed the phased proposal and the priority locations identified in phase one, provided detailed arrangements for the scheme were ironed out, the initial cameras could be installed soon. Mrs Bickley also sits as a magistrate and said in her experience from the bench in Exeter, CCTV was an increasingly important tool in securing prosecutions. ?I often hear the police say without the CCTV evidence they would not have been able to make a prosecution. It can be difficult to get witnesses to an incident to come to court, whereas CCTV evidence is anonymous,? she said. It is hoped the town council will make its own financial contribution towards the scheme from part of the Waitrose profit-sharing bonus agreement.