A SERIES of CCTV cameras have been installed in towns across the region in a bid to combat crime.

Cameras are now live in Ammanford, Ystradgynlais, Llanelli and Carmarthen.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed-Powys, Dafydd Llywelyn, had pledged to reinstate the cameras and get them up and running since he was elected.

Over 150 state of the art HD CCTV cameras with 25x optical zoom and 360 degrees turning capability, have now been installed in 24 towns across the force area.

Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn said: “I am really pleased that the CCTV project has come to fruition and is now completed. I am very grateful to see the force responding to the pledge I made to reintroduce a CCTV infrastructure in the Dyfed-Powys Police force area.

“It’s all about making sure our communities are as safe and secure as possible and it is very encouraging to see the positive impact the CCTV infrastructure, its centralised monitoring suite and our team of CCTV operators are having on policing throughout the force. I look forward to be able to open our doors to the community representatives once again, for them to see the system to understand the level of investment made and for them to see the impact CCTV is already having throughout the force.”

To celebrate the accomplishment, the Police and Crime Commissioner invited Councillors and other community representatives to Police Headquarters to see for themselves how cameras are being proactively monitored from a centralised monitoring suite.

Emlyn Dole, Carmarthenshire Council Leader said: “It was nice to visit the operating room at HQ and see how effective the system is and how the team operates. As Leader of Carmarthenshire, I can only commend Dafydd's enthusiasm in his effort to ensure that this area remains the safest place in Britain.”

Camera locations were identified by listening to community concerns matched with a review of crime pattern analysis.

This included analysing the towns’ crime data, the number of emergency and non-emergency calls for police service received, the level of reported anti-social behaviour and hate crime incidents.

CCTV footage has already proven crucial evidence in police investigations. The quality of the footage has been so compelling, some suspects have pleaded guilty to the offences they were accused of.

Chief Constable Mark Collins said: “CCTV is having a significant impact in this area, finding missing people, locating people who are threatening to harm themselves and bringing matters to a positive conclusion. The new infrastructure and the monitoring team are an invaluable tool that we are already making good use of within the force.”