POLICE in Dubbo, Orange and Lithgow may praise closed circuit television (CCTV) as an essential crime-fighting tool, but Bathurst is yet to adopt the technology.
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In Dubbo, Orange and Lithgow, CCTV cameras were installed by council, in consultation with police, and each have a live feed into the city's police station.
While the cameras are not monitored 24-hours-a-day in any of the cities, police can manually move the cameras and zoom in on hot spots.
They can then observe escalating incidents or review footage where a crime has occurred.
Dubbo Police duty officer Inspector Scott Tanner said the city's 27 CCTV cameras have been a huge benefit, "we can't rate it highly enough".
"If we get a report, the station officer can view it ... we can find them and track them all the way to the other end of the CBD," he said.
Assault, smashed windows and robberies are the three most common crimes captured on Dubbo's CCTV.
Inspector Tanner said "nine times out of 10" offenders admit to a crime when confronted with themselves captured on CCTV footage.
Inspector Tanner also credits CCTV will helping police make swift arrests.
"We had an incident a number of weeks ago where a number of cars got broken into and within four hours we had the offenders," he said. "It's become an everyday tool for police ... for a town the size of Bathurst it's vital."
Orange Police Inspector Bruce Grassick said the city's 24 cameras are crucial in helping police reduce response times.
"They've certainly been useful, they're a tool and one of the many resources we use to combat crime," he said.
"In our area it's been effective, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be effective elsewhere.
"The issue with cameras is they are only as good as what they can see, there's always going to be black spots."
Lithgow Police duty officer Acting Inspector Darryl Goodwin said the city's six CCTV cameras have been a "beneficial tool" for police.
"We can see a build-up of people and where they're congregating and what they're doing and send police straight there," he said.
Acting Inspector Goodwin said CCTV led to a marked drop in the number of street offences such as vandalised windows and anti-social behaviour.
"All types of offences [are caught on camera], malicious damage and assault are the most common, [also] offensive conduct like urination in public," he said.
"We tend to catch a fair bit and it is a good tool to know where people are."
Despite the positives, he said there are some drawbacks with CCTV.
"The monitor will only pick up and record what it's facing at the time," he said.
