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West Midlands Police says that over 20,000 people have signed up for its new service which allows members of the public to register their CCTV cameras with the force, making it easy to share images and catch criminals.
The force says that every year, thousands of offenders are brought to justice thanks to CCTV and doorbell camera footage. It created the CCTV Registry in September 2024 and is one of only two forces in the country taking this approach.
Members of the public who own CCTV cameras, such as those in shops and other businesses, can add their cameras to a secure map of CCTV cameras in the West Midlands. By doing so, the force can quickly identify cameras that may have captured evidence near to the scene of a crime.
To register, all the force needs is a name, address, email and the number of cameras in use. Once on the CCTV Registry, officers from West Midlands Police can send details of an incident to the owners of the camera, along with a request for them to check their footage. The CCTV owner can then then send the images via a secure link helping officers to identify criminals or trace victims and witnesses, meaning crimes are solved faster.
The force explained that getting a request for footage out quickly, and getting a quick response, helps prevent footage from automatically expiring from doorbell cameras or being overwritten on CCTV systems. It cannot access the cameras directly and owners’ personal details are not publicly available with access to the system strictly controlled within the force.
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