Assessment of the Effectiveness of CCTV Surveillance in Reducing Street Crime in Abuja City Centre

CCTV surveillance has been deployed in Abuja's central business district as part of a Smart City initiative, and evaluating its effectiveness in deterring and detecting street crime provides evidence for its continued investment and expansion. This study assessed the effectiveness of CCTV surveillance in reducing street crime in Garki and Central Business District areas of Abuja Municipal Area Council, Federal Capital Territory. A quasi-experimental design was adopted, comparing crime incident statistics from FCT Police Command for 18 months before and after CCTV activation in target surveillance zones, supplemented by a survey of 200 residents and 20 police officers on perceptions of CCTV effectiveness. Differences-in-differences analysis compared crime trends in CCTV-covered versus uncovered locations. Recorded street crime (pickpocketing, mugging, assault) declined by 23.7 percent in CCTV zones post-installation compared to a 3.2 percent decline in non-CCTV control areas. Residents in surveyed areas reported feeling safer at night (67.5 percent) and during daytime commercial activities (71.0 percent). Police officers reported that CCTV footage had assisted 47 arrest decisions in the 18-month post-installation period. However, 35 percent of officers cited frequent camera malfunction as an operational limitation. Crime displacement to adjacent uncovered areas was suspected by 60 percent of police respondents. The study concludes that CCTV surveillance in Abuja has a measurable deterrent effect and recommends maintenance investment, coverage expansion, and integration with real-time police dispatch protocols.

Keywords: CCTV surveillance, street crime, crime deterrence, Abuja, FCT