The Cabinet will meet tonight to consider switching to a modern CCTV system to help curb street drinking and make streets safer.

Plans to make Brent safer are set to get the green light tonight as the council’s cabinet will be asked to give their backing to a report calling for improved CCTV and a new proposal to curb street drinking.

The report reccommends spending around £2 million to overhaul the borough’s 20-year-old CCTV system, described as “archaic” and requiring “an upgrade”, rather than paying increased costs to maintain it.

Instead, it suggests changing to a wireless system allowing for a more cost-efficient and flexible CCTV network and enabling cameras to be easily relocated to crime hotspots.

The cabinet will also consider a proposal to better combat street drinking. Despite the whole borough being made a controlled drinking zone since 2007, anti-social behaviour linked to prohibited street drinking is still an issue in areas including Harlesden, Kilburn, Ealing Road, Neasden, Wembley Park and Sudbury.

It is therefore proposed that the council introduces Public Spaces Protection Orders in those areas over a six-month period to tackle the issue - a breach of which would constitute a criminal offence carrying a fine of up to £1,000.

Cllr Tom Miller, Brent Council’s Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, said: “Our proposals to improve our CCTV and tackle alcohol-related anti-social behaviour follow the recent work we have we been doing in getting more police on our streets, in tackling crime linked to rogue shisha outlets and underlines our commitment in making Brent safer.

“The investment in CCTV would not only replace a dated twentieth century system, but will mean we’ll get a state-of-the-art, more flexible and cost-efficient system that ensures we can maintain a network that helps to keep residents safe.

“We are also considering measures to introduce Public Spaces Protection Orders for street drinking, demonstrating that while we will always help those vulnerable people battling addiction, we will always take a zero tolerance approach towards anti-social behaviour.”