[Project] Austria - Vienna CCTV Expansion and the Biometrics and Surveillance Information Agency

[Merzia]

TYPE	Infrastructure
BUILDER	Austria
CLIENT	Austria
SITE LOCATION	Austria
SECTOR	Public Safety
PROJECT NAME	Vienna CCTV Expansion and the Biometrics and Surveillance Information Agency
PROJECT COST	570,000,000.00
COMPLETION DATE	22/08/2026
PROJECT INFORMATION	Vienna is regarded as one of Europe's major cities, however its security infrastructure, notably in CCTV capabilities, is sparse compared to other major cities. Sitting at just 7.3 CCTV cameras per 1,000 people, or 30 cameras per km2, this is far below comparisons to the likes of London at 68 cameras per 1000 people, or 300 cameras per km2. It is acknowledged that this shortfall is driven by a historic cultural suspicion towards surveillance. However, recent crime activities have found that this sparsity creates real operational policing challenges. After much consideration, policing authorities have found that the need for greater surveillance far outweighs cultural suspicion. To address this shortfall and ensure effective policing and crime prevention, Vienna will install sufficient surveillance infrastructure using London as it's template; a city where its surveillance apparatus has led to a reduction in crime and increased prosecution rates for offenders. This plan will see the installation of 106,000 new CCTV cameras across Vienna. This would bring the average up to 60 cameras per 1000 people and 290 cameras per km2. Though still below major cities like London, this quantity has been deemed sufficient by policing authorities in satisfying operational policing demands. This will also see the development of additional monitoring centres, data storage, fibre backbone upgrades, software licensing and cybersecurity. To address privacy concerns, cameras will not be equipped with facial recognition technology. Additionally, camera footage can only be accessed if there is a genuine policing need to do so. This will be overseen by the Biometrics and Surveillance Information Agency, a new independent office that ensures that police and other authorities are utilising surveillance and biometric data in accordance with the law, focusing on data protection, privacy, and necessity.