The anticipated $300,000 initiative was announced last year by Minister of Labour, Home Affairs & Public Safety Randy Horton and then-Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith as part of a plan to reduce crime and improve business potential in North Hamilton.

The surveillance system will also be placed along Pitts Bay Road, where two cameras will be mounted to address a recent rash of handbag snatches in that area.

"Work on the extension of the CCTV camera network along North Hamilton and Pitts Bay Road is expected to begin within the next ten days," said Mr. Horton yesterday.

"There has been some delay as the company that will be handling the installation was previously working on a large project. That project has been completed. The company is now able to give its full attention to this venture."

For years various businesses and community groups had called for improved policing of North Hamilton.

Common issues of complaint included illicit drug use and general disorder, with many in the area claiming authorities had little interest in maintaining the same degree of lawfulness there as was enforced in more central areas of the City.

CCTV was first introduced to parts of Hamilton in 1998. The introduction to North Hamilton and Pitts Bay Road marks the first expansion since that time. Last October Mr. Horton said alarming statistics were driving the need for increased television surveillance on Bermuda's roads and most notably, Court Street.

During the first nine months of 2005 officers were called to that area on 380 occasions ? 14 per cent of the calls were traffic-related, 16 per cent were crime-related and 70 per cent involved "drugs, disorder and miscellaneous incidents".

"The installation of these CCTV devices will efficiently enhance the ability of the Bermuda Police Service to keep a 24-hour surveillance on these areas," Mr. Horton said when he introduced the initiative last year.

"We know from our research that the presence of CCTV cameras in and around the City of Hamilton has decreased the incidence of bike thefts, vandalism and violence . . . Government has listened to the business community and the law-abiding people in these areas who have asked for increased police patrols to deter crime."

Seven cameras will be placed in North Hamilton ? two mounted on poles along Court Street and five placed on buildings in surrounding areas.