Crime in Oxford’s Cowley Road fell in the first two months since controversial CCTV cameras were switched on.

Three cameras which can rotate to give a full 360 degree view went live on January 19.

Figures obtained by the Oxford Mail under the Freedom of Information Act showed there were 150 crimes on Cowley Road in the first two months ofoperation.

That was a drop from 166 over the same time last year.

Total crime in three wards surrounding Cowley Road during the same period fell from 657 in 2008 to 600 this year.

Last night , the cameras were declared a welcome boost to crime fighting by both police and traders.

Chief Insp Phil Standish said: “Clearly any drop in crime is welcome.

“CCTV is part of the overall policing response in terms of tackling crime, reducing crime and public safety and reassurance.

“But CCTV is not the only thing we deploy.

“It is a tool we are using.

“I wouldn’t be able to say on the basis of six or seven weeks the cameras have made a definitive difference.”

The £340,000 security cameras operate from Princes Street, Manzil Way and Southfield Road and can be rotated 360 degrees.

Between January 19 and March 19, assaults fell from 14 in 2008 to nine and burglaries from eight to just one.

Public order offences dropped from 23 to 17 and shoplifting from 19 to six. Possession of cannabis increased from five to nine offences.

Mohammed Arshad, a businessman and Cowley Road property owner, said: “Time will tell, but it is a step in the right direction.

“I have noticed more people around in the evenings, which is a positive thing.

“Maybe they feel safer now.”

Jan Bartlett, owner of Premier Letting Agency, said: “The results are better than we could have imagined.

“Our area is now safer for my staff and all members of the public, including the tots using the Manzil Gardens play area, where the fall in used needles and condoms, as well as the improved crime statistics, has improved the quality life.”

Charles Farrier, of No CCTV, has called for an independent study.

Mr Farrier said: “Any chance of a proper assessment of the cameras has been ruined because police have also changed policing on the Cowley Road.

“It is much more likely to be the change, which means more bobbies on the beat rather than the cameras.”

Plans for Cowley Road CCTV were first mooted — but swiftly rejected — 15 years ago. The scheme was revived in 2007 before a compromise on a scaled down version was agreed.