The new CCTV system will go into effect in approximately two weeks after the training of Reserve Police has been completed.

Sgt. Gordon Tyerman, of the Surrey Police Department, and Athol Hampson, a consultant with the Symonds Group, are here to teach locals how to operate and manage the new system.

There are a total of 37 cameras in place around the city, eight are at Bull's Head car park and six are stationed around City Hall.

The other 15 cover most of Hamilton, from Pitt's Bay Road to Parliament Street and from Front Street to Dundonald Street.

From the command centre at Police Headquarters, the people operating the system will view and record what is going on around town.

The two experts stressed that the aim of the CCTV system is to fight crime and to help manage traffic in the city centre.

"It is not about picking on people,'' Sgt. Tyerman said. "It is an overt system.'' Both Sgt. Tyerman and Mr. Hampson said considerable emphasis would be placed on the ethics to be employed with such a system during the training.

Sgt. Tyerman has had experience with similar systems in the UK and said that they had been very successful in solving crimes. In the UK, crime had decreased from ten to 25 percent with the use of such cameras.

He said in his experience, the CCTV evidence had been crucial in solving a particular murder and rape where the culprits were not known to police.

He added that although there had been initial concerns from citizens about the system, once it was operative, people appreciated its effectiveness.

The men said the training would help operators identify "hot-spots'' in Hamilton which would need to be watched at certain times of the day or night.

The training will include direction on the proper maintenance and management of the system to ensure the integrity of the information being obtained from the system.

Mr. Hampson said Bermuda was on the cutting edge in employing this technology and that Bermuda was ahead of the UK in certifying its operators.

The cameras will be taping 24 hours per day and the tapes will be kept for 31 days before they were reused unless the information taped is needed for a particular investigation and possible court case.