CCTV monitoring evaluation dashboard

Municipality of Amsterdam

Data analysis to assess the need to use CCTV at a specific location to maintain public order.

Last change on 2nd of July 2026, at 15:08 (CET) | Publication Standard 1.0

• Publication category: Impactful algorithms
• Impact assessment: DPIA
• Status: In use

General information

Theme

Public Order and Safety

Begin date

2022-07

Contact information

[e-mail]

Link to publication website

https://lokaleregelgeving.overheid.nl/CVDR684362/1

Responsible use

Goal and impact

CCTV surveillance may be deployed to maintain public order where necessary. CCTV surveillance serves various purposes.

- CCTV surveillance enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of the work carried out by the police, local enforcement officers and emergency services. It helps the police, enforcement officers and supervisors to arrive at the scene more quickly;

- In addition, CCTV surveillance has a preventative effect: it helps to prevent public order problems and criminal offences.

 - CCTV surveillance also has a repressive function: the police and the judicial authorities can use the CCTV footage for investigative purposes;

- Finally, CCTV ensures that members of the public and business owners feel safer.

Anyone entering a CCTV surveillance area must be clearly informed of this. This is done by erecting signs and informing local residents and business owners in the area concerned. The decision in which the mayor announces the designation of a CCTV surveillance area is published.

The recorded CCTV footage is viewed live and/or stored. Live viewing takes place only on the days and at the times when it is necessary, under the supervision of the police. 

The police are the only authority with unrestricted access to the servers on which the footage is stored. The local authority itself has no access to the servers. The cameras are always switched on, but the footage is not always viewed live. 

Considerations

Mayors may designate areas where CCTV surveillance takes place for a specific period in order to maintain public order. CCTV is used to make public spaces safer. The cameras monitor nightlife areas, shopping centres and areas where there is a high level of nuisance or crime. CCTV enables the local authority, in collaboration with the police, to take swift action where necessary. To assess the need for CCTV surveillance, data analysis provides input for the policy decision on whether or not to extend the surveillance.

We only use the necessary data. In addition to the information visible on the dashboard, evaluations are also carried out with relevant partners and colleagues from the local areas.

Human intervention

The display of the recordings provides the policy officer with various types of information to help them assess the need for CCTV surveillance. This forms part of a broader assessment, which may lead to various actions, such as: adjusting the camera settings, removing the camera, installing an additional camera in a designated area, formulating a monitoring instruction or amending a monitoring instruction.

Risk management

We use only the data that is strictly necessary; access to the data analysis via a dashboard is restricted to a small group of people, and the decision as to whether or not to renew is still made by a human. The dashboard is therefore merely a supportive tool designed to provide insight.

The recordings based on CCTV footage relate to situations, actions and behaviour. No personal characteristics are processed.

The initial selection of CCTV surveillance areas is not based on information from this system.

The cameras are always on, but data is only recorded at specific times. This may give a distorted picture of the issues.

Incidents that are captured by a camera but are not being monitored by an observer at that moment are not counted as a recording.

The data processed is derived from camera footage. It represents a human interpretation of the footage. 

Impact assessment

Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)

Operations

Data

Only the police have unrestricted access to the servers on which the footage is stored. The local authority itself does not have access to the servers.

Observers record incidents of public disorder based on what they see in the camera footage. This information is uploaded to a dashboard and can be organised by location and type of incident. This categorisation is used in analyses to assess the need to extend CCTV surveillance at a specific location. For example: the police record public order offences such as drug dealing and acts of violence in public. If that was the reason for installing CCTV surveillance, it can be specifically selected for the evaluation using the filters available on the dashboard. In addition, various other records and interventions (reports from members of the public, records and any enforcement measures imposed) received by the local authority are also visible. 

Technical design

The records created by the police are displayed visually on a dashboard using bar charts, timelines and a map view showing the exact location to which each record relates. For example, by totalling these records by area and by type of offence. The user can select a CCTV area and view the number of records and interventions over time, as well as filter by record type. 

Data types:

Police records based on CCTV footage, enforcement records, reports from members of the public. Data collected by the OOV Data Warehouse (Municipality of Amsterdam).

Model architecture:

The records created by the police are visually displayed in a dashboard using bar charts, timelines and a map view showing the exact location of the incident. For example, by totalling these records by area and by type of offence. The user can select a CCTV area and view the number of records and interventions over time, as well as filter by record type.