Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) is a secure video surveillance system used to monitor public areas, enhance community safety and support law enforcement efforts. The City of Stirling operates a comprehensive CCTV network to deter criminal and antisocial behaviour, assist in incident response and aid investigations conducted by the WA Police Force.
The City's CCTV network and usage
The City maintains a robust and evolving CCTV infrastructure, including:
- Over 600 fixed CCTV cameras installed across 39 strategic locations
- Mobile CCTV units, such as trailers and towers deployed for temporary surveillance needs
- Body-worn and vehicle-mounted CCTV cameras used by community safety officers to enhance patrol operations.
The City of Stirling utilises its CCTV network in the following ways:
- Crime deterrent - CCTV cameras are strategically placed to discourage unlawful and antisocial behaviour in public spaces
- Support for Investigations – Recorded CCTV footage is provided to the WA Police Force to assist with criminal investigations and legal proceedings
- Incident Response – CCTV footage is reviewed to support timely responses by law enforcement and community safety officers
- Live monitoring - Selected high-priority sites are monitored in real time in collaboration with the WA Police Force
- Temporary surveillance – Mobile CCTV units are deployed to areas requiring short-term monitoring based on emerging safety concerns
- Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) - ANPR-enabled CCTV cameras are installed at key locations to identify vehicles of interest and support traffic-related investigations.
Citywide CCTV principles
Community safety is a key priority for the City, and CCTV plays an important role in preventing crime and enhancing public safety. To ensure a consistent, transparent, and strategic approach to CCTV management, Council endorsed a set of CCTV Principles on 25 November 2025.
These principles provide a clear framework for decision-making and align with the City’s CCTV Action Plan, supporting the delivery of a modern, effective surveillance network that meets community expectations.
- Enabling the City to identify, respond to and enforce Local Laws and other relevant regulations.
- Enabling the City to identify, respond to and protect community assets from acts of public nuisance and property damage.
- Assisting the Western Australia Police Force to identify, detect and respond to crime.
- Supporting emergency response and public safety initiatives.
- Ensuring the collection, use, disclosure and storage of any personal information is in accordance with all relevant legislation.
- Maintaining effective management practices and standard operating procedures that recognise and protect privacy, security and integrity in the viewing, use and disclosure of all information obtained.
- Conducting regular audits to ensure compliance with privacy standards and to identify areas for improvement.
- Ensuring that CCTV network connections with the Western Australia Police Force are governed by a Memorandum of Understanding.
- Identifying the need for surveillance through engagement with the Western Australia Police Force, Elected Members, community and other relevant stakeholders.
- Deploying mobile CCTV assets at identified hot-spots through verifiable antisocial and/or criminal behaviour information from the City’s Community Safety Business Unit and Western Australia Police Force.
- Decision making for the review, upgrade and renewal of existing CCTV systems will be undertaken through the City’s Administration with communication to Council’s Crime Prevention Advisory Group (or similar).
- Funding of the City’s CCTV network will be guided by budget available through the City’s Community Safety Charge or through public safety partnerships with the Western Australian and/or Australian Governments.
- Confining any new CCTV systems to activity centres, City facilities, entertainment precincts, thoroughfares and other high-risk public places (unless otherwise agreed with Council).
- Utilising antisocial and/or criminal behaviour data from the City’s Community Safety Business Unit and Western Australia Police Force as the basis for any new CCTV systems.
- Ensuring that any new CCTV systems complement existing and proposed crime prevention strategies.
- Decision making for new CCTV systems in the public realm will be undertaken through Council’s annual budget process on a program basis with prior communication to Council’s Crime Prevention Advisory Group (or similar).
- Providing the community with information about the CCTV network purpose, coverage and privacy safeguards.
- Engaging with community affected by CCTV systems in their local area to address any concerns and build trust.
- Encouraging the responsible use of private surveillance technologies to support the community safety activities of the City and Western Australia Police Force.
- Promoting the value of residents registering private surveillance technologies on the Western Australia Police Force Cam-Map portal.
- Maintaining CCTV network hardware and system to a high operational standard, with regular testing and upgrades.
- Future-proofed through strategic investment in scalable and interoperable technologies.
- Ensure inappropriate use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is monitored and avoided.
- Protected against unauthorised access, tampering, cyber threats and maintain ongoing awareness of, and mitigations against, threats that are of particular concern when using generative artificial intelligence (AI).
- Ensuring that any requests for recorded material are assessed for legitimacy, relevance, and compliance with privacy legislation.
- Providing clear guidance to internal and external stakeholders for requests to view and/or obtain CCTV footage.
- Maintaining a secure log of all CCTV footage access and associated disclosures for accountability and audit purposes.
- Storing and destruction of recorded materials in accordance with record keeping legislation.
- Maintaining strict access control.
- Ongoing training in privacy, legal compliance, ethical use, and technical proficiency.
- Clear guidance on professional conduct and responsibilities. Support to uphold high standards of integrity, discretion, and accountability.
- Breach and complaints management processes.
CCTV Action Plan
The City is dedicated to fostering community safety for all residents and visitors. As part of this commitment, the City is advancing its CCTV network capabilities through a strategic and forward-looking approach.
The City developed a CCTV Action Plan aimed at delivering a modern, secure and effective surveillance network. This plan outlines key improvements designed to strengthen public safety and support crime prevention efforts.
Key elements of the CCTV Action Plan are:
- Integrated CCTV network to streamline operations and improve efficiency across all surveillance assets
- Clear standards for infrastructure and equipment to ensure consistency, reliability, and future scalability
- Frameworks for integrating CCTV with video analytics and secure networking protocols
- Defined operations processes for deployment, maintenance and access management.
Advances in surveillance technology now enable real-time monitoring, remote access and intelligent video analytics. These capabilities enhance the City’s ability to respond swifty to incidents and proactively manage public safety. At the same time these innovations improve security, to protect the City’s broader IT network.
Through these enhancements, the City aims to deliver, increased community safety, improved responsiveness to incidents and safer public spaces for all.
Progress updates and information on community benefits will be shared as the project moves forward.
The City of Stirling’s CCTV Action Plan delivers a range of strategic benefits aimed at enhancing public safety, operational efficiency and sustainability. These improvements support both community safety and the effectiveness of law enforcement partnerships.
Operational efficiency and time savings
- Improved system support using a single CCTV platform
- AI-powered tools to enable faster identification of persons and vehicles of interest
- Enables quicker retrieval of footage, reducing travel time and improving response efficiency
- Direct access for the WA Police Force, to expedite investigations and enhance collaboration
- Automated system alerts to improve maintenance response times.
Enhanced security
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Active Directory Authentication, to strengthen access control and system security.
- User-level audit trail to ensure accountability through detailed access logs.
- Regular software and hardware updates maintain system integrity and resilience.
Improved staff safety
- Remote monitoring capabilities reduce the need for staff to enter potentially unsafe environments.
- Real-time monitoring enhances the safety of community patrol officers during field operations.
Sustainability and community safety
- Reduced vehicle travel through remote access solutions.
- Enhanced coordination with the WA Police Force improves response times to public safety concerns.
- Proactive alerts to patrol officers when suspicious activity is detected.
- Remote monitoring helps prevent vandalism and theft of City infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions
The CCTV Action Plan provides a secure, standardised and efficient framework for the installation, management and maintenance of the City’s CCTV network.
The City identified opportunities to enhance CCTV network capabilities through system consolidation, improved maintenance practices and integration with modern surveillance technologies.
The City operates approximately 635 fixed cameras across 39 locations, in addition to body-worn cameras, vehicle-mounted cameras and five mobile CCTV units.
CCTV footage is used to, deter antisocial and criminal behaviour, support investigations by the WA Police Force, monitor high-risk public areas and enhance overall community safety.
Footage is requested by the WA Police Force on an almost daily basis. Requests have increased by over 56% in the past five years.
Remote access enables, faster retrieval of footage, real-time monitoring capabilities, reduced downtime for faulty equipment and enhanced safety for staff operating in public areas.
Mobile CCTV units are deployed to monitor areas without fixed cameras and to support targeted crime prevention efforts.
Requests may be submitted by the WA Police Force, elected officials, community members and internal City business units.
Yes, planned upgrades include video analytics to detect incidents, such as, weapons, physical altercations, graffiti and crowd surging.
No, facial recognition is not being considered for use by the City.
Yes. The City has enabled remote access to selected CCTV cameras for the WA Police Force to support rapid response and investigative efforts.
Security measures include, secure network architecture, advanced authentication protocols, regular software updates and strict access control policies.
Yes. The Action Plan prioritises the replacement of analogue and hybrid systems with modern digital CCTV technology.
The City of Stirling manages all CCTV operations, including, footage requests, live monitoring, system audits and routine maintenance.
The CCTV Action Plan is being implemented from 2024 to 2026, with ongoing improvements to system security, efficiency and accessibility.
For further details, please contact the City of Stirling on (08) 9205 8555.
Requesting CCTV footage
CCTV footage is requested by the WA Police Force on an almost daily basis, with demand increasing by over 56% in the past five years. Footage may be requested by the WA Police Force and other authorised entities to support investigations.
All recorded footage is securely stored and managed in accordance with privacy and legal requirements. Public access to CCTV footage is only permitted under a valid legal order or through the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1992.
For more information on CCTV footage or if you would like to request CCTV footage, please contact the City of Stirling Contact Centre.
