A new way to help ‘protect citizens’ from crime.
Photo: SMU

Would you connect your camera to the network?

CCTV GRID LINK REQUEST

A new initiative in Victoria is urging residents and businesses to voluntarily register their CCTV cameras in a bid to ‘help tackle crime’, sparking debate about privacy and safety.

The programme, known as the Safer Places Network, aims to create a centralised database identifying the locations of privately-owned surveillance systems. Participants are invited to submit basic details, including the address of the camera and its general coverage area.

The initiative, authorities say, is designed to ‘streamline police investigations’.

If an incident occurs – such as a burglary, assault, or vehicle theft – officers can consult the database to determine whether nearby cameras may have captured relevant footage.

They can then contact the registered owner and request access.

Supporters argue the approach reflects a ‘practical evolution of modern policing’.

With CCTV systems now commonplace in residential streets and commercial areas, privately-owned cameras represent a vast but largely untapped resource.

By mapping their locations in advance, investigators may be able to gather evidence more quickly, potentially improving clearance rates, and acting as a deterrent to crime.

While Victoria Police has expressed general support for the use of CCTV in solving crimes, they are not formally operating the database. It is a private entity managing all of this.

A spokesperson for Safer Places Network said their goal is to “…connect communities with law enforcement in a way that is cooperative, not coercive”.

The group emphasises that participation is strictly voluntary and that data collected is limited to location information, rather than video content.

The scheme reportedly does not provide authorities with live access to footage, nor does it allow automatic monitoring of private cameras. The decision to share recordings reportedly remains at the discretion of the individual – or so we are told.

Not everyone is convinced that access will truly remain private, with concerns being raised among privacy advocates and civil liberties groups.

Critics warn that even a database limited to camera locations could be misused if not properly secured, or could lead to increased pressure on residents to share footage.

Since Jacinta Allan became Premier in September 2023, Victoria’s crime figures have risen noticeably – increasing 17% in just one year alone between 2024-2025.

But instead of actually solving this issue, in typical government fashion, authorities say that YOU need to give up your personal privacy to achieve a ‘resolution’.

A ‘resolution’ that won’t help anything get better, and just leave residents who did opt-in to the scheme further exposed to more monitoring of their activities.

Monitoring that will likely end up merge din the fabric of Victoria’s ‘smart city’ agenda.

SMART CITY GRID

You would have to be a ‘little slow’ to even think of allowing a system that has repeatedly violated personal privacy rights any access to your own CCTV devices.

It is bad enough that many of our ‘security’ cameras are already made in China, including those used by major companies and buildings – allowing for a potential backdoor inside.

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Who is to say that this type of monitoring won’t happen with CCTV camera networks too?

I think we all know it is naive to assume this, especially if it is being run by a private group.

Melbourne is already an advanced ‘smart city’, incorporating various models across the area.

Their ‘smart city’ project has already seen the establishment of open data platforms that have almost 100 unique data sets that are available for anyone to access and use.

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Through this open data platform, you can view real time city data at any time.

At the end of the day, the goal is to have everything will merge under the one, unified, all-seeing grid – where the actions of each and every citizen are monitored in real-time.

We have already seen this happen with the rest of the CCTV network.

Cameras already used by authorities are super charged with the latest AI features that can detect everything associated with a driver’s journey, including if they are drunk or not.

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Individuals drive on roads that are powered by advanced ‘traffic management systems’, such as the “Intelligent Corridor” that launched in 2022.

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On these roads, the state already has an “interconnected network of garbage trucks” that are described as ‘the new frontline’ in a futuristic, modern Victoria.