[Cthulhu_]

I mean I'd rather CCTV footage stays local to the location it's in (a secured security room with a limited data retention policy), but I get why it's networked, because that way it can scale up better. More cameras etc.

And while CCTV is for solving crime or at the very least proving to the insurance company that something did in fact happen, at the same time they're a known deterrent, hence fake cameras. There's plenty of shops that have a screen when you come in to show you that you're being recorded, which again works as a deterrent.