Residents Invited to Join Staffordshire Police's CCTV Register to Enhance Community Safety

From Staffordshire Police

Every day, CCTV and video doorbell footage helps police investigate crimes, identify offenders, locate missing people, and establish what happened during incidents.

By registering your CCTV or doorbell camera on our secure registry, you are letting officers know that cameras may be available should an incident occur nearby. You are not providing live access to your system or sharing footage automatically.

The more residents and businesses who register, the greater the opportunity to gather evidence and progress investigations. Footage can be invaluable in a wide range of situations, including:

• Burglary and attempted burglary

• Vehicle crime and theft

• Anti-social behaviour

• Criminal damage and vandalism

• Assaults and public disorder

• Missing person enquiries

• Hate crime incidents

• Road traffic collisions and fail-to-stop incidents

• Suspicious activity and intelligence gathering

Even if your camera only captures part of a street, footpath, car park, or communal area, it could provide a crucial piece of evidence that helps officers identify suspects, trace movements, or corroborate accounts.

Registration takes less than 60 seconds and could make a significant difference when an incident occurs in your neighbourhood. Read more and register here: Staffordshire Police CCTV Registry

The CCTV Registry does not alter the legal responsibilities of camera owners. Anyone operating CCTV or a video doorbell remains responsible for ensuring their use of the system complies with any applicable data protection requirements. Registration simply records the location of a camera that may be able to assist an investigation and does not give Staffordshire Police access to the camera or its recordings. Instead, it allows officers to identify where relevant footage may exist following an incident and contact the camera owner.

If footage is required, an officer will contact the camera owner and invite them to voluntarily review and upload any relevant footage. The camera owner remains in control of their system and any footage they choose to provide. Staffordshire Police do not monitor cameras, do not have live access, and do not automatically receive recordings.

Residents Invited to Join Staffordshire Police's CCTV Register to Enhance Community Safety