An employee of the firm due to start with work with police on its new $6.5 million CCTV system was arrested after it was discovered he had outstanding warrants for traffic offences.

Police confirmed last night the BAS-Serco worker was collared on Monday — but that he had now paid his fines.

The news came as Commissioner of Police Michael DeSilva said that there would be delays in completion of the new hi-tech islandwide camera network.

Mr DeSilva added: “The final stages of preparation have not been without issue and as a result there will be delays in reaching full operations.”

Mr DeSilva explained that overseas experts would need to be drafted in to help with the technical aspects of the project.

He said: “Work continues locally, but until the wireless network is installed, full utilisation cannot be met.

“In the meantime, CCTV coverage of the Island is not as wide as the plan calls for. BAS-Serco will work with all possible speed to resolve the situation in the coming weeks.”

Mr DeSilva added: “This is a regrettable reality, but the BPS is committed to working with the vendor to complete this project as soon as possible.

“This is a considerable technological undertaking and I will ensure that we take the time to get it right.”

National Security Minister Michael Dunkley announced that the new contract, worth $1.3 million a year over five years, in September last year.

When complete, the new system, which replaces the one run by GET Security, will have 150 cameras compared to the former figure of 86 and also have facial recognition and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR).