A FEASIBILITY study will start next week to find out if Closed Circuit Television should be introduced in Devizes.

Devizes is among the few towns in Wiltshire which does not have CCTV. Police said this week criminals were travelling from as far away as Liverpool to commit crime in towns which do not have CCTV.

The feasibility study will cost £4,000 and is being funded by Wiltshire Police, Kennet District Council and Wiltshire County Council, all key organisations on the Kennet Community Safety Partnership.

Town councillor Noel Woolrych, who is a member of the task group of the partnership as well as the chairman of Devizes Crime Prevention Panel, said despite the low crime rate in Devizes and Kennet CCTV should be introduced.

He said: "I know CCTV is not the panacea of all problems but we want to keep our low level of crime down. Without CCTV the fear of crime increases and we know there have been shoplifters who have come to Devizes from outside the area because we don't have CCTV in the town centre."

Chief inspector Kevin Maidment, Wiltshire Police's operations manager for the Kennet area, said: "We have got evidence across Kennet that people are travelling from as far afield as the north of England, such as Liverpool, as well as from Bristol to commit crime."

Chief inspector Maidment, who is also a member of the task group on the partnership, said: "CCTV has a proven track record across the country in reducing crime and increasing the feeling of public safety.

"In Salisbury for instance after CCTV was introduced there was a significant reduction in crime.

"For people who make a living out of crime they will go further afield to places which do not have CCTV."

Kevin James, environment and community safety manager at Kennet District Council, said the partnership would have to make a decision based on the feasibility study. It would also have to decide if the cost of running it was viable.

The study is being carried out by consultants who will report back on whether CCTV is needed in Devizes and other towns in Kennet, including Marlborough, Pewsey, Tidworth and Ludgershall.

The consultants will also work out how much a system will cost to run and where cameras should be positioned.

Bids to the Home Office for funding to pay for the capital costs of a CCTV system have to be submitted by December 22.

The partnership is confident that if the consultants recommend the installation of a system an outline bid can be made in time.