---
title: "Home security cameras in Australia: do they stop crooks?"
author: "Mick Carmody"
datePublished: 2026-07-20T21:13:00.000Z
canonical: "https://dudeworld.com.au/post/00tig5c0e4x78/home-security-cameras-crime-deterrent-australia-2026"
---

A doorbell cam feels like the modern version of fitting a better deadbolt: spend a few hundred bucks, get the phone alert, sleep a bit easier. The awkward bit in [ABC News’s latest report on the rise of home security cameras](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-21/security-camera-installation-increase/106909392) is that Australians are buying the gear faster than anyone can prove it scares off thieves. Cameras can make a place feel watched. They can also give you sharp footage of someone nicking the drill skins, the kids’ bikes or a parcel from the porch.

That gap between comfort and proof is what matters for homeowners and renters. Deakin University criminologist Shiri Krebs told ABC camera purchases are rising by about 10 to 12 per cent a year, and one installer in the western Riverina said his business is up 50 per cent over the past two years. Brandon Newman, a Griffith homeowner who added cameras after a break-in, said the setup gave him peace of mind. Fair enough. What it does not automatically buy is a proven deterrent.

> “If security cameras improve home security or security more generally, it’s quite minor, if at all.”
>
> Shiri Krebs, [ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-21/security-camera-installation-increase/106909392)

The numbers are more useful for what they do not say. A 2025 [Australian Institute of Criminology study on CCTV and case clearances](https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi576) found NSW rail matters were solved in 24.8 per cent of cases when footage was requested, compared with 21.0 per cent when it was not. Timely CCTV was linked with an 18 per cent lift in clearance rates. Good result. Still, that is a police evidence story more than a prevention story. Cameras help officers piece together what happened, when it happened and who was there. They do not turn the front gate into a force field.

If you have priced up a smart doorbell, a floodlight cam and a cloud plan, that distinction matters. Most of us are not buying this kit because we need another app to babysit. We are buying it because the shed has real gear in it, the ute is in the driveway, or the kids are coming and going at odd hours. An opportunistic thief can still work around a bad angle, poor lighting, a flat battery, slow notifications or a hood pulled low. The camera might still earn its keep, just later than the marketing suggests.

## Where cameras still earn their keep

Police are not writing the gear off. Murrumbidgee Police District Inspector Glenn Smith told ABC that household footage is regularly useful when officers need to identify offenders, cars and timelines after a job.

> “It provides critical evidence for us to identify offenders, vehicles and the times that it’s occurring.”
>
> Glenn Smith, [ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-21/security-camera-installation-increase/106909392)

That lines up with [updated findings from Community Crime Prevention Victoria](https://www.crimeprevention.vic.gov.au/resources/cctv/updated-findings-on-the-impact-of-cctv-for-crime-prevention), which found CCTV works best as part of a broader setup rather than as a magic fix on its own. Lighting, sightlines, solid locks, trimmed hiding spots and quick reporting still do heavy lifting. The camera is one layer in the plan, not the whole plan.

So the practical read for Aussie households is pretty simple. Install cameras for usable footage, a clearer timeline and maybe a number plate, not because the box promises a shield around the house. Put them where faces and entry points are actually visible. Check what happens at night. Make sure the clips save for long enough to matter. If something does go wrong, get the footage to police fast, because the AIC data suggests speed is part of what makes CCTV useful in the first place.

That is less exciting than the box copy on a smart-home starter kit, but it is probably the honest version. Home security cameras are becoming normal suburban gear in Australia. They can give households a genuine sense of control, and sometimes they give police the break they need. What they do not yet offer, at least on the evidence in this case and [earlier ABC reporting on whether cameras deter thieves](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-15/do-security-cameras-deter-thieves/105397686), is a clean promise that crooks will see the lens and walk away.