The chief of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) David Tembe has admitted that the cameras installed at the beginning of the new millennium have not helped much in fighting crime in the inner city.

Yesterday, Tembe presented a report to the Inner City Partnership Forum which showed a lot of problems in the fight against crime in the Johannesburg CBD.

Tembe told the forum that of the 476 cameras in the inner city, only 284 were working by August this year due to vandalism, power failures and construction companies that have damaged the fibre cables providing the feed.

He said it did not help for the cameras to be on the road but not linked to JMPD units on the ground.

The location of the cameras was based on SAPS intelligence which is now outdated.

"When you look at Jeppe Street in 2009, those structures of hawkers were supposed to be removed. The mugger will go under the hawker's structure and come out on the other side having changed his shirt. But these structures are still there."

Tembe said the CCTV cameras were installed in one fixed position and cannot roam around and move with a criminal along the road.