Sydney Council considers AI-powered surveillance to ‘detect suspicious behaviour’ before crime occurs

Sydney officials are looking to introduce artificial intelligence into the city’s public CCTV surveillance network, allowing supercharged cameras the ability to flag potentially ‘suspicious behaviour’ and ‘prevent crime’ before it happens.

Algorithms monitoring your behaviour in real-time.

AI SURVEILLANCE NETWORK

City of Sydney is considering a major overhaul of its public security camera network, with artificial intelligence being incorporated and used to monitor public spaces – flagging suspicious behaviour to ‘prevent crime’ before it happens.

The proposed changes would introduce AI-assisted surveillance technology into the council’s existing Street Safety Camera Program, which operates more than 100 public safety cameras across Sydney’s central business district and inner-city suburbs.

Under the plan, AI software would analyse live and recorded CCTV footage, identifying ‘unusual activity’ to alert security operators of incidents that may need investigation.

Potential “triggers”, they say, could include people running or suddenly changing direction, unexpected crowd gatherings, vehicles travelling in the wrong direction, and objects being abandoned or removed.

The technology could also help operators search recorded footage using descriptions of people, including clothing colour, hair colour, age, and whether they were carrying bags.

The proposal represents a significant development in the use of surveillance technology in public spaces, shifting the emphasis from simply recording incidents, to using automated systems to identify ‘concerning behaviour’ before any crime is committed.

Minority Report, eat your heart out.

The prospect of AI monitoring the everyday movements of people in public places has already raised questions about privacy, accountability, and the potential for innocent members of the public to be wrongly flagged.

The NSW Information and Privacy Commission currently recognises that identifiable CCTV footage constitutes personal information and that councils have privacy obligations when collecting, storing, and using it.

Will we see the rights of the public protected given this declaration?

How will this technology define ‘suspicious behaviour’?

Activities such as running, gathering in groups, or changing direction suddenly may have entirely innocent explanations. Automated systems can misinterpret human behaviour, potentially generating false alerts or disproportionately flagging particular groups.

Furthermore, who would have access to the information collected?

How long will footage and associated data be retained?

Will safeguards prevent the technology being expanded beyond its original purpose?

I think we all know the answers to those questions.

Every time the government says they are trying balance ‘crime prevention’ with individual privacy and civil liberties – you should immediately be sceptical.

They want nothing more than all public activity put into something that is constantly monitored, analysed, and judged by an algorithm.

Sydney has already spent years upgrading existing infrastructure with ‘smart city’ technology as part of the CBD’s ‘Smart City Strategic Framework’, including throwing in a mix of Agenda 2030 ‘sustainable development’ goals – so we shouldn’t be shocked.

Sydney’s first 30-Minute Smart City is almost here
RELATED ARTICLE

NSW government introduces ‘Heat Smart City Plan’ for Greater Sydney area
RELATED ARTICLE

This is a national agenda. We have just recently witnessed WA Police expand their own biometric surveillance system in the inner-city – powered by similar AI systems.

WA facial recognition trial scans more than 130,000 faces in first week
RELATED ARTICLE

On 26 October 2026, City of Sydney councillors unanimously approved the draft Street Safety Camera Program Code of Practice for public exhibition.

The draft code will now undergo public consultation before returning to council for a final adoption decision. The consultation process will provide an opportunity for residents, businesses, and privacy advocates to examine the proposed arrangements and raise concerns about how the technology could affect people in Sydney.

Let’s hope that local residents speak up about this plan – as the Leviathan state attempts to tighten the surveillance state on each and every corner.

People need to show the snakes that personal liberties should never be compromised.

Especially when individuals like this are the ones making the decisions:

View this post on Instagram

Because if you don’t, another building block falls into place.

One that George Orwell dreamed of in his dystopian novel decades ago.

You may not have even committed a crime – you could just have turned around and walked back in the opposite direction. If so, you will soon be treated as a suspect.

We have already seen how workplace surveillance is being supercharged by AI – and now law enforcement and city councils are tapping into the powerful technology.