Cameras will be installed in the homes of potential burglary victims

The aim is to catch criminals stealing from homes in the South Bank area where there is a high number of burglaries.

The covert cameras should provide high quality images for the police without the burglars knowing they have been recorded.

Officers say the scheme provides constant surveillance, which normal policing simply can not match.

Crime analysts

A task-based community safety group - including the City of York councillors and officers , North Yorkshire Police and the Safer York Partnership - came up with the initiative as part of a campaign to reduce crime in the South Bank area.

Sergeant Mike Stubbs, of the York community policing team, is leading the operation and said the systems would stay in place for some time.

"I want every burglar who thinks about breaking into someone's home in South Bank to know we have these cameras, and I want them to make the decision not to commit that crime," he said.

The project is being financed by the Safer York Partnership, using Home Office Building Safer Communities funding.