THERE will be no place on the streets for Cirencester criminals to hide following a hefty investment into the town’s CCTV operations.

Outlined in its most recent budget, Cirencester Town Council will pump £40,000 into a new and improved CCTV system in a bid to keep the town safe.

“Cirencester and the Cotswolds is already a very safe place to live,” said Andrew Tubb, the town council’s chief executive.

“But we have found that a large number of people living here suffer from a fear of crime rather than actual crime itself,” he added.

The running of the town’s CCTV operations used to be the responsibility of Cotswold District Council but was transferred to CTC during the last 12 months.

Mr Tubb said: “Having taken it on, we are looking to improve the whole system. This town council is very proactive. When we are able to take something on, we will.”

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

The petition was backed by a list of over 1,000 signatures.

Statistics suggest that communities with operational security cameras have a lower crime rate than areas without.

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.

At a special meeting, held last month, the town council voted in favour of increasing the annual budget to £840,550.

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