The former detective, who lobbied hard for the cameras, said the network was helping police as an investigative tool and would in the future be used as a prosecutory tool.

The network of 24 cameras became fully operational in July and Cr Seage said there had already been three occasions where NSW Police had cause to request images.

‘‘There was a child sex offender allegedly pestering children during Education Week celebrations, there was an alleged sexual assault that occurred near a licensed premises and a recent glassing where our CCTV identified people in question leaving the premises,’’ Cr Seage said.

Installation of the cameras was not without controversy with concerns raised over privacy and questions raised over the effectiveness of the cameras to deter crime.

Despite that, Kiama Council is pushing ahead with with plans to roll out cameras in other parts of the municipality, starting with Gerringong where they hope to have cameras up and running in 12 months.

‘‘We are also looking at mobile cameras that can be put up at a moment’s notice in trouble spots such as on Australia Day, in car parks where there are break and enters, possibly Kiama Harbour and illegal dumping hot spots,’’ Cr Seage said.

The CCTV project received $150,000 in funding from the federal government, with the council contributing $80,000 and the NSW government $50,000.

The cameras make use of Kiama Council’s new fibre network.

Kiama Council now also offers free Wi-Fi in the Kiama CBD, which was a separate project but designed and delivered in coordination with the CCTV project.

Kiama Mayor Brian Petschler said latest figures showed on average around 500 people were logging into the free Wi-Fi network daily.