More closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras are to be installed in the towns of Mandeville, Manchester and Montego Bay, St James, this year.

The move is part of the Government's effort to enhance police monitoring of the areas and ensure the safety and security of residents.

Head of the Modernisation Initiatives and Strategic Projects Division in the Ministry of National Security, Dr Canute Thompson, said there will be a 50 per cent increase in the number of cameras serving the towns.

He was speaking at a forum on building safe communities, staged by the Management Institute for National Development at its Mandeville campus in Manchester last Friday.

He informed that the ministry is collaborating with the local private sector groups on the initiative.

Thompson argued that the monitoring of public areas through the use of CCTV surveillance technology is crucial in deterring criminal activity, as well as to support the investigation of crime.

"We are of the view that when people know that an area is monitored by CCTV, there is a stronger likelihood that they will conduct themselves in a manner that is law-abiding," he noted.

Thompson further informed that CCTV systems are also to be installed in Christiana, Manchester, this year, through partnership with the Christiana Business Watch Group.

"That particular group is contributing 80 per cent of the cost of installing a system in Christiana," he said, adding that the initiative will be supported by the National Commercial Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia.