I've no idea how easily and quickly CCTV can be picked up by the authorities. I'd guess their own network can be viewed quickly. But I'd bet that it takes weeks to get businesses videos.
I used to have to supervise security in a well - known public shopping centre, and the newer digital CCTV cameras were extraordinary... You can read someone's mobile phone over their shoulder, read the ingredients on a packet of crisps.. you can place a marker on a suspicious carrier bag and the cameras can follow it around automatically... Joined up with ANPR its an incredible bit of kit.
The fastest I ever saw footage supplied to the police was a matter of seconds. The police phone up and say "We're looking for a suspect who we believe arrived in your car park just after ten this morning, wearing a blue parka and white scarf".... Security tap the cam number and time into the system, locate the suspect, follow him around the estate in fast forward, clip the footage and email it to the cops.
"Yep, we've got him leaving via a fire exit at ten thirty, walking to a bus stop and getting on the number 33 into town."
Next call, bus company... If they've got a good a system they'll tell you which bus stop he got off at...etc etc .
This is the latest full color 360 degree digital system with about 320 separate cameras. Not all systems are that good... In fact a large percentage don't work at all.
We once had two armed bank robbers use our place as a bolt hole after a bank raid in Yorkshire - daftest move they ever made, we had them ID'd before they were even out of the car. They lasted about 200 yards before our security lead the cops to their location. We also had footage of where they slid their guns under a coke machine!!
