Community leaders are calling for locals to be given more of a say in where cameras are installed as part of a massive digital upgrade of Angus’s ageing CCTV system.
The plea follows a string of vandal attacks and reports of antisocial behaviour across Angus this year.
Officials have spent more than £400,000 so far on upgrading 20-year-old cameras and infrastructure.
Angus Council is working with Police Scotland, Dundee and Perth and Kinross local authorities to install a Tayside-wide network, which will be headquartered in Dundee.
Officers in Angus have awarded contracts for £428,792 since the start of the year, to deliver and install 36 Bosch HD Digital CCTV cameras and associated infrastructure.
Additional cameras are destined for council-owned buildings, such as Arbroath High School and Angus House.
Supporters say it will make it easier to detect crime and trace missing people but campaigners argue there should be more engagement with local groups to ensure the new cameras are installed where they are needed most.
Linda Clark, chairwoman of Forfar Community Council, said updated cameras would help tackle common crimes, including vandalism.
“I am in favour provided they are placed correctly,” she said.
“There should be proper engagement between police, council and communities on how to do this.
“They make people feel better. There are places in Forfar that would benefit in having a camera there.
“If you get an incident on record then you can stop someone from going on to do something worse.”
The county has been plagued with reports of vandalism and anti-social behaviour in recent months, with particular hot spots emerging in Arbroath, Brechin, Carnoustie and Forfar.
Forfar and district Conservative councillor Braden Davy said broken and low quality cameras had hampered efforts to deal with incidents.
“We have all seen cases where CCTV images aren’t clear enough, or the cameras haven’t been working during incidents,” he said.
“These investments will help ensure that doesn’t happen.”
An Angus Council spokesman said the existing camera infrastructure and equipment was originally installed in 1997.
“It has now reached its end of life,” he said.
” This project to upgrade systems from analogue to digital is ongoing and will reduce future maintenance costs.”
He said the Tayside-wide collaboration would allow investigators to take advantage of the latest technology, including digital cameras and interpretation software.
“This enables faster responses to situations such as missing persons and ensures we can continue to protect our communities,” he added.
“It combines all three council and police services into a central service in Dundee, while retaining the ability to monitor cameras locally if required.”
A total of 51 cameras in Angus, 87 in Dundee and 35 in Perth are being upgraded as part of the £1 million overall project.
