An authority has set aside thousands of pounds to ramp up and upgrade CCTV in West Oxfordshire towns to discourage criminals. 

West Oxfordshire District Council is recommended to give the green light for the £255,635 enhancement towards high definition digital cameras in Witney and Carterton as well as the addition of five more cameras in Chipping Norton.

This will increase the number of public open space CCTV cameras in West Oxfordshire from its current figure of 63 with 23.

Of the existing devices, there are 23 in Witney town centre, 25 in Marriotts Walk shopping centre, 11 at the Woolgate Centre and four in Carterton.

Oxford Mail: Witney High Street.Witney High Street. (Image: Oxford Mail)

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There are also plans to move towards a "shared Oxfordshire hub control room" to "improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the monitoring" and transfer ownership to Thames Valley Police.

A meeting paper says: "The use of a CCTV system to help meet this duty (preventing crime) includes detection, deterrence, self-discipline – by potential victims and potential offenders, and acting as a capable guardian."

Hailey Minster Lovell and Leafield ward councillor Liam Walker added: "I welcome this investment in upgrading CCTV cameras in West Oxfordshire which is long overdue and these upgrades will help to detect crime in our town centres and help residents to feel safe as they go about their business.

Oxford Mail: Liam Walker.Liam Walker. (Image: West Oxfordshire District Council.)

"Moving the ownership of the system over to Thames Valley Police also sounds like perfect sense to me and will hopefully help with operational needs when a crime is being committed or has been committed and the recordings need to be used as evidence.”