COMMUNITY Beat Officer Alistair Stewart, reporting to the May meeting of Merkinch Community Council, scotched the suggestion that the CCTV cameras were not being operated because they could not be afforded. “It is absolutely not true,” he said.

He did stress that cameras were not the answer to everything, though they helped. So did the fact that more people were phoning up. He said that a reflection of the improved situation in Merkinch was that while in the first three months of last year the bill for vandalism in the area was £52,000, this year, for the same period, it was £22,000.

PC Stewart also pointed out that although the concierge could not be watching the cameras all the time, the cameras were checked to make sure they were working all the time. Community council members said they were happy about the service they were getting from the community beat policeman, but there were lingering questions about the cameras. PC Stewart pointed out that Highland Council operated the street cameras - apart from the Grant Street ones - and members agreed to write to Chris Claridge regarding their concerns.