ORANGE City Council and Celtron have officially signed a contract to install the long awaited CCTV surveillance system in the CBD.

While the tender was announced several weeks ago, the signing of the contract means the project can begin sooner than originally anticipated.

The equipment required for the system has been ordered and is expected to be ready to trial in as soon as eight weeks’ time.

Under the contract Newcastle-based firm Celtron will install wireless cameras at 10 locations throughout the CBD in areas identified as high priority by police and council staff.

At each location there will be two cameras recording through four lenses that offer police a 360 degree view of the area.

The high resolution cameras will provide superior quality images that can be zoomed in and out when the data is being viewed.

The images will then be transmitted to a monitoring point at the Orange Police Station with the data to be stored at Orange City Council.

According to crime prevention committee chairman Cr Glenn Taylor, the signing of the contract was an exciting first step to having operational CCTV throughout the city.

“This project has been talked about for a long time in Orange and a $150,000 Federal Government grant helped make it a reality,” he said.

“Council is also supporting the project financially and by managing the tender Orange Police are also onside. This camera system will be another tool in police resources in aiding crime detection, prevention and prosecution.”

Council has developed a Code of Practice to ensure monitoring and privacy issue standards are maintained at a high level which will soon be made available publicly.