The use of surveillance cameras to crack down on rising crime in the capital was approved by the Government Council on Foreign Policy and Defense (KYSEA) last week.
The decision to include the use of cameras in efforts to curb a rising crime wave was backed by most ministers who attended the meeting.
Reports say that cameras used during the 2004 Olympics will be activated first.
The Interior Ministry is also planning to boosts its stocks by hiring a further 3,000 officers and buying hundreds of new patrol cars and motorcycles. Footage recorded on the cameras will be kept on file, sources said.
However the Government initiative was undermined by the police’s inability to prevent the escape of two handcuffed detainees from an Athens court complex last week.
Their escape led PASOK spokesman Giorgos Papaconstantinou to question the quality of policing and the effectiveness of surveiilance cameras.
When journalists sought his response to the introduction of the surveillance cameras he said “Would the two fugitives have been caught today if the cameras had been on?”