An extra 45 surveillance cameras are to be installed in a move to identify troublemakers and rioters in flashpoint areas of north Belfast.
Eighteen will be in place before the summer and the height of the tense marching season.
The North’s security minister Ms Jane Kennedy who gave the go-ahead for the additional measures after talks with the acting Chief Constable Mr Colin Cramphorn, said the CCTV cameras would not offer reassurance to both communities caught.
"But" she added, "it will provide the police with a valuable tool with which to combat the brutal and needless violence."
The minister had been under pressure to act amid fears on all sides that somebody could get killed in sectarian clashes which have erupted in several parts of north Belfast.
With the loyalist paramilitary leader Johnny Adair due for release from jail next month, there are also concerns the violence will escalate.
The Limestone Road, Whitewell Road, Crumlin Road and North Queen St, scenes of some of the worst trouble, are among the areas getting the first cameras.
Ms Kennedy said it was essential a lasting solution was found to end the disturbances. It was up to community leaders and politicians to make a genuine effort towards creating a society in which everyone can live together in a climate of tolerance.
PA