DORKING'S CCTV system is to be reviewed to ensure cameras are in the right places after changes to town centre pubs shifted trouble hotspots to new areas.
Speaking at a meeting of the Dorking Town Centre Forum, Mole Valley Inspector Andy Rundle said patterns of behaviour had altered following changes to the town's nighttime economy, particularly in West Street which Sergeant Bert Dean said had become "something of a ghost town".
Inspector Rundle said: "You just don't see the reported levels of town centre violence we had two years ago any more.
"I think that's largely down to our much tougher stance on licensing.
"The Old House at Home has gone through some significant changes in the way it operates and it has been reborn as a gastro-pub.
"That will absolutely have an impact, as will the work we have done around the Queen's Head."
However, Inspector Rundle said an upgrade to the camera system was unlikely as money is short and the town is now too safe.
Responding to a question from Sarah Slade, of community group the Friends of Dorking, on whether a new camera could be installed in South Street, he said: "The problem is that town centre CCTV was installed in a different economic age – that was only a few years ago but it could have been 100 years ago in terms of finances.
"We have a very good system and anything new has to be of that spec; you can't just bolt things on.
"One of the challenges is that I don't have the town centre violence or the serious incidents to justify an expansion.
"But I'll look at South Street and see if we can do anything."
Other items discussed at the monthly meeting, held at the Pippbrook council offices on April 15, included the negative effect the recent cold weather had had on traders, the lack of news regarding the proposed new Sainsbury's store and the effect high business rates are having on the number of empty High Street shops.
