Published: Thursday, 24th June, 2010 7:05am

Extra CCTV cameras in Rosyth crime blitz

by Graham Gibson

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WEST FIFE police have installed two new Domehawk CCTV cameras in Rosyth as the latest weapon in their battle against anti-social behaviour in the town.

Building on the success of the cameras in areas such as Kincardine and Inverkeithing's Fraser Avenue, the Domehawks have been placed on a lamppost at the Queensferry Road Parkgate junction in Rosyth.

The Domehawk camera operates at 12 frames a second and includes zoom capability and a hard drive computer, which is able to download images on to a DVD to be used as evidence in court if required.

Police purchased a number of Domehawk cameras for south west Fife through funding from the South West Fife area committee and now have four permanent and two mobile cameras, with Oakley, Kincardine and Fraser Avenue all currently benefiting from them.

The cameras have already proved a great success in Kincardine, where a Domehawk was installed on the town's High Street in October 2009.

Since its introduction, the number of calls received by the police for that area has fallen by 30 per cent compared to the same period the previous year.

The number of recorded crimes fell by more than 58 per cent, with vandalism in the area being reduced by more than 80 per cent.

Inspector Gordon Mitchell, of Fife police's south west division said, "The cameras have done a fantastic job in south west Fife and, building on that, we have installed two in Queensferry Road, Rosyth.

"The first one was installed in Kincardine High Street as a result of reported anti-social behaviour there.

"The feedback received from members of the public was very positive, with some stating that they are no longer worried about walking through the High Street in the evenings, and the place feels a much safer place to be.

"The figures speak for themselves, allowing normal village life to return and the community can reclaim what is rightly theirs.

"We have a zero tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour in south west Fife and will continue to work with our partners and the community to improve the quality of life."

Chair of Fife Council's South West Fife area committee, Alice McGarry, said, "The new cameras have been fantastic.

"We have four permanent ones deployed in Rosyth, Inverkeithing, Oakley and in Kincardine and we've already seen a massive difference to disorder in the areas where they've been placed.

"We've had good feedback, especially from the Fraser Avenue residents, who have seen disorder in the main street of Fraser Avenue just disappear as far down as the cameras reach.

"We also have two roving cameras, which go out with the community teams and can target hot spots and are also extremely effective.

"It has been a really good exercise, made an enormous difference and has certainly been worth the money that's been spent."