CIRENCESTER is set to clamp down on street crime by installing a brand new, state-of-the-art CCTV system across the town.

Speaking at the town council’s annual meeting on Tuesday, April 22, Cirencester mayor Joe Harris criticised the old cameras currently in use.

“The old system left to us by Cotswold District Council wasn’t about to capture a picture, let alone a criminal,” he said.

Cllr Harris said the new CCTV cameras were being installed in response to the town council’s ongoing commitment to safeguarding residents in Cirencester.

“We’re about to invest in the new system which will deter criminals from committing crime, at the same time putting them off coming to the town. We’re making Cirencester safe,” he said.

In a report presented at the meeting, Cllr Shirley Alexander, lead member for community services, said the council had liaised with local police and visited other towns in the county with a similar CCTV setup.

She also said that quotes had been taken from three different security companies and that they were currently being scrutinised by an independent expert.

It is hoped that the new CCTV system will be monitored more effectively by the police and other officials.

Andrew Tubb, chief executive of Cirencester Town Council, said: “There is going to be greater flexibility in terms of monitoring as there will be remote access to the cameras.”

In 2010, the Standard launched a petition calling on CCTV in Cirencester to be improved after it was revealed that CDC had halves its monitoring time from 112 hours a week to just 56 hours in 2008.

Mr Tubb said: “I would hope that the new cameras would act as an added deterrent to anyone thinking about committing crime. Cirencester is, however, a town with an already very low rate of crime.”

The new system will be rolled out in the town centre to begin with before moving out to other parts of the town, including the new 32-acre site at Kingshill.

For more information, visit www.cirencester.gov.uk.