IT'S POLICE, Camera, Action in Callington as officers, together with the town council, get ready to launch an enhanced CCTV scheme in the town, utilising community-spirited residents.

Callington Town Council has agreed to fund a third camera for the town centre at a cost of £8,500 — it is the latest move in the town's campaign to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on anti-social behaviour and criminal damage.

The camera, at the junction of Well Street and Fore Street, will pick up any problems at the busy junction and cover the length of Well Street.

Together with cameras at the top of Church Street and at the town hall, the new equipment will provide vital evidence in catching criminals and act as a deterrent to crime.

Cameras will be monitored from a dedicated area in the town hall by members of the community as well as at the central CCTV monitoring station in Liskeard, which covers several towns in South East Cornwall.

Police are currently vetting local people who have come forward to be police volunteers and wish to get involved in things like CCTV and speed monitoring, door to door surveys for PACT (Police and Communities Together) to prioritise issues of concern in the community.

Officers reported a good response to the appeal for police volunteers with many students at Duchy College at Stoke Climsland signing up as part of their public services course.

Town councillor Jeremy Gist said there had been times when the council felt the CCTV monitoring at Liskeard was not effective enough: 'We have felt that perhaps it is not being watched enough.

'To have constant monitoring here in Callington we can relay the information to police as soon as an incident happens.

'CCTV in Callington has proved effective in getting the evidence the police need and with this third camera it will be enhanced further. Now we can cover the whole of the town centre.'

Mr Gist added that with new Asbo (anti-social behaviour order) legislation, which made landlords responsible for anti-social tenants — police in Callington secured the first Asbo closure order of a privately-rented residence in Cornwall earlier this year, following two years of trouble on a town housing estate — there was a strong message going out to the community.

'Callington is no worse than any other town as far as anti-social behaviour is concerned but what I do think is that we are better at stamping down on it than other towns,' he said.

'Where some communities will accept some level of anti-social behaviour we do not want to accept it and will do everything in our power to stop it.'

Callington PC Julian Collison said CCTV allowed police to get good evidence, and acquiring a third camera for the town, covering an area where there were problems historically, would have a significant impact.