Peebles businesses encouraged to invest in CCTV to catch criminals

It was revealed at a meeting of the town’s community council that there are CCTV cameras, but the recording equipment is “defunct”.

Chairman Les Turnbull told members it was doubtful that Scottish Borders Council would invest in new equipment.

Community councillor Malcolm Bruce approached the Peebles Callants Club to ask if it would fund CCTV coverage, but the idea was not met with support.

However, a businessman in the town, said that he had invested in his own equipment to capture criminal activity outside his premises.

“He made a suggestion that if every business in the town (Old Town, High Street, Eastgate, Northgate), invested in their own fairly simple CCTV equipment with suitable warning to passers-by that they are being recorded, then you would effectively achieve 100 percent coverage of all the main thoroughfares in the town,” said Mr Bruce.

He told the meeting that CCTV cameras are around £70 and would be “effective control for little cost”.

He added: “If SBC and the police won’t come up with the goods in the form of a decent CCTV coverage system, then primarily it’s the shopkeepers that are taking a lot of the brunt of the bad behaviour that goes on in the town. We know there have been windows kicked in. Perhaps that would all cease if those responsible were being filmed while they do it.”

The community council welcomed the idea, and would like to hear the opinions of business owners in the community.