High-tech surveillance cameras are going up on street poles in suburban South Jersey communities where they are being used as virtual patrols to stretch police departments.

Many have been installed quietly, netting a rash of drug dealers as well as petty criminals.

In Riverside, NJ, a blue-collar town of 9,000, the equipment was used in recent years to disband a burglary ring and a Bloods Gang affiliate known as Sex Money Murder.

Nearby, in Burlington City, the equipment captured an encounter with a vandal who had a ladder, a hammer, and a scheme to stop the incessant recording on a street corner known as a drug market.

The vandal and an accomplice were arrested, undone by the real-time, zoomed-in images delivered to police headquarters before the camera sputtered.

“For overall public security, it’s fantastic,” Burlington City Sgt. John Fine told The Philadelphia Inquirer about the 30 cameras that were installed on street corners over the last three months.

“This gives us extra eyes on the street. . . . Many times, residents tell us that things happen when we’re not patrolling the area.”

As the struggling city of 10,000 takes steps to remake its image and attract new business, reducing crime has become a focus, City Council President David Babula said.

“It’s a crucial part of what we’re trying to accomplish.”