By Callum Ludwig
While CCTV can play an important role in improving community safety and the investigation of crime, it’s not without its concerns.
Invasion of privacy, data collection and misuse are the main issues raised when cameras are installed and there are discussions to be had about what could constitute overreach.
Members of the My Place Yarra Valley group (MPYV), a community group that started up in the Yarra Ranges in opposition to the local council adopting the concept of ‘20-minute neighbourhoods’, are sceptical of global and local governance, 5G mobile connectivity and CCTV and digital surveillance.
Founder of MPYV Belinda Modesti said an extensive CCTV network can lead to increased government monitoring, raising concerns about misuse, overreach, and the potential for authoritarian control thus infringing on our right to privacy.
“If CCTV networks are linked to facial recognition and other AI technologies, they can be used for mass tracking and monitoring, leading to a ‘Big Brother’ society,” she said.
“I also have concerns about constitutional breaches such as freedom of expression given it may discourage protests, activism or even casual conversations in the public domain.”
“I have no issue with small businesses using CCTV as an added protection for personal property but I do have major concerns about these devices being used by governments on a large scale.”
A number of posts in the MPYV Facebook group express concerns about digital surveillance and they have also encouraged members concerned about ‘personal biometric data’ being captured through CCTV as part of a previous ‘STAND UP – WAKE UP – PUSH BACK’ email series to send ‘withdrawal of consent’ letters to local and state governments.
Ms Modesti said she thinks CCTV is not stopping crimes like carjackings and home invasions given criminals do not fear the camera, often hiding their faces with masks.
“These [cameras] were used purely to enforce [pandemic] restrictions despite claiming to be used for managing public health,” she said.
“Furthermore CCTV is reactive not preventive, I would rather see funding go into looking at the root cause of the problem – supporting a better police force that answers to the people, not the government, which would prioritise community safety, public accountability, and human rights over political agendas or state control.”
Ms Modesti refers to CCTV cameras as ‘SMART’ (Surveillance, Monitoring, Analysis, Reporting, Technology) systems and that they were rolled out during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-2021, though the cameras in the Yarra Ranges were pledged between 2013-2019, with most, if not all, installed prior to 2020.
Ms Modesti said she would not support an increase in SMART technology, as it doesn’t protect the innocent and it certainly doesn’t prevent crime.
“Effective crime prevention strategies should focus on community policing, social programs, better lighting, and increased public presence, engaging communities and addressing root causes of crime (such as poverty and substance abuse) tend to be more effective than surveillance alone,” she said.
“In recent years, there has been a shift by our police force that penalises individuals for menial misdemeanours involving themselves in enforcing low-level offenses that don’t pose a direct threat to public safety, this needs to change,”
“The current system of policing where police spend more time penalising citizens for petty offenses, simply shifts the focus away from crime prevention, turning policing into a revenue-generating mechanism (e.g., fines, asset seizures) rather than a mechanism for improving safety and justice for all.”
Ms Modesti also expressed concern that if CCTV cameras are storing personal information and are hacked, that this information could sold on the dark web, used for identity theft or blackmail, exploited by cybercriminals for fraud, stalking, or harassment or manipulated or altered to frame individuals. In 2024, Bunnings was found to have breached privacy laws by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for using facial recognition technology without gaining proper consent through CCTV cameras in its stores.
Ms Modesti said surveillance infrastructure is implemented, it can be misused by future governments.
“A Government today that is, transparent and upholds civil liberties may eventually be replaced by one that seeks to abuse these systems for control, surveillance, and suppression, this must be considered by everyone,” she said.
“Complacency and apathy will result in destroying our inalienable rights, complacency today paves the way for injustice tomorrow,”
“A ‘smart city’ designed for safety, convenience and efficiency could be exploited for total surveillance of every citizen’s movements, interactions, and behaviors, potentially used to silence critics or control public opinion.”
There are a number of guidelines and laws regarding the use of surveillance technology, collection of biometric data and cameras in Victoria and Australia:
The Office of the Victorian Information Commisioner (OVIC) has Guiding Principles for Surveillance, which are based on the protections in the Victorian Privacy and Data Protection Act and Information Privacy Principles, should be used by any Victorian public sector organisation, including government departments or facilities and councils.
Another MPYV member Sally Clinton said her concerns with CCTV are twofold and community safety and crime prevention should not be used as the excuse to increase population surveillance.
“Firstly nobody has the right to film me go about my day doing normal activities, my life is not a reality TV show whereby I give consent to being filmed walking down the street, driving my car, going grocery shopping or even using the local toilet block,” she said.
“Secondly, what happens to the data that is captured and stored from all the cameras on our street corners, who owns them and who has access to the data, these are important questions which nobody seems to be asking.”
According to the OAIC, the Australia Privacy Act and Australian Privacy Principles cover Australian Government agencies, organisations with an annual turnover of more than $3 million and some other organisations including private health service providers such as private hospitals and gyms and private educational facilities such as child care centres and private schools.
Healesville resident and owner of The Mare Coffee Company James Lee said he’s not against CCTV, having it in his own cafe, but has concerns about its effectiveness.
“There’s no police in town from Friday to Sunday, I like that there’s concern about the rate of crime in town but without proper policing, not even a car cruising around, I don’t think cameras will do what people want them to,” he said.
“I also don’t want to be photographed or have videos taken of me every time I’m out on the street and we have to ask, when does your sense of security need to override my social liberty to be anonymous in my own town.”
Star Mail will be speaking with a researcher in this space next week.
