THE recent installation of four security cameras to curb anti-social behaviour is a step in the right direction for peace of mind in Bowral.

Initiated by the Southern Highlands Business Chamber Vandalism Committee, the four cameras in the Bowral CBD will be a guide on whether similar cameras should be used in both Mittagong and Moss Vale.

Anyone that walks on Bong Bong Street in the early hours of Saturday or Sunday morning can vouch that action needed to be taken.

When anti-social behaviour becomes the rule rather than the exception, it calls for something serious to be done.

But only the first step has been taken. The next step must be to increase police presence in Bowral to ensure these cameras don’t merely act as a substitute for human authority.

If our police numbers aren’t adequate to maintain law and order, then how will they cope having to track down hours of CCTV camera footage? Will this mean they have even less time out on foot patrolling our streets?

Visible policing has improved since the Southern Highlands’ transfer to the Goulburn Local Area Command in December last year.

But some people might wonder whether the cameras in the Bowral CBD are there to help police or to act as a deterrent only.

A camera doesn’t have the power to make arrests on the spot, and like all technology, can malfunction or be broken.

Bravo to the Vandalism Committee for taking step one. Step two is now bringing in more police so that everyone in the Southern Highlands feels safe, no matter when and where they are.