CCTV cameras for malls in Saudi Arabia are planned around the locations listed in the executive regulation of the Security Surveillance Cameras Use Law: entrances, the main lobby and corridors on every floor, escalators, car park entrances and exits at plate-reading range, loading areas, emergency exits and assembly points. It runs from a central control room with dedicated storage and logged access.
This guide covers camera layout by zone, camera types for corridors, car parks and atriums, people counting, the control room, fire alarm and access control integration, and storage sizing. AZEIDK delivers this work under its security and surveillance systems, from design and supply to installation, programming and maintenance.
Key takeaways
- Article 2 of the executive regulation requires coverage of entrances and reception desks at identification range, the main lobby and corridors on all floors, stairs and escalators, and emergency exits, assembly points and fire equipment locations.
- Car park entrances and exits and the visitor drop-off area must be covered at a range that allows plate reading and identification.
- Shops inside enclosed shopping centres are exempt from installing external cameras for the shop; common areas remain the mall’s responsibility.
- Audio recording and thermal cameras need the competent directorate’s approval, and warning signs are required at every entrance and exit.
- Camera count and storage are calculated from the drawings, the location list and the retention period in the conditions document, not from a fixed ratio per square metre.
In this article
- Which areas must CCTV cameras for malls cover?
- How many cameras does a mall need?
- Which cameras suit mall car parks?
- Are people counting cameras used in malls?
- How is central monitoring managed in a mall?
- Integration with fire alarm and access control
- Storage and network sizing for a mall
- Privacy and warning signs inside the mall
- Common mistakes in mall CCTV
- Frequently asked questions
- Summary
Which areas must CCTV cameras for malls cover?
The starting point is Article 2 of the executive regulation, published in the Umm Al-Qura Gazette on 20/11/1444 AH (9 June 2023). It lists the locations covered entities must monitor and, for several, the required view: identification or plate reading. The conditions document approved with the regulation adds further locations and specifications. The table maps the locations that usually apply to a mall to a suitable camera type.
| Mall location | What the regulation says | Typical camera choice |
|---|---|---|
| Main mall entrances | Identification range | Fixed camera with a lens matched to the door distance, with WDR for glazed entrances |
| Reception and customer service desks | Identification range | Indoor dome camera |
| Main lobby (atrium) | Main lobby and corridors on all floors | Panoramic or multi-lens camera for the overview, plus a PTZ camera for tracking |
| Shop corridors on each floor | Main lobby and corridors on all floors | Fixed cameras along the corridor and at junctions |
| Stairs and escalators | Listed | A camera at the top and bottom of each escalator |
| Car park entrances and exits, visitor drop-off | Plate reading and identification range | ANPR camera plus a general scene camera |
| Loading, service areas and stores | Listed | Outdoor bullet cameras suited to heat and dust |
| Emergency exits, assembly points, fire equipment locations | Listed | A fixed camera per exit door and assembly point |
| Electrical and communications room entrances; gas, water tank and central HVAC rooms | Identification range for electrical and communications room entrances; coverage of the rooms and surrounding areas | A fixed camera at each door |
| ATMs | Listed | A fixed camera covering the machine and its surroundings |
For tenants, paragraph 2 of Article 2 exempts commercial shops inside enclosed shopping centres from installing external cameras for the shop. Corridors and shared frontages therefore fall to the mall system. Cameras inside the shop, including the till camera, are covered in CCTV cameras for retail shops.
How many cameras does a mall need?
There is no fixed number: two malls of the same size can differ widely in entrances, floors, escalators and car park gates. Count from the drawings:
- Mark the Article 2 and conditions-document locations on each floor plan, the car parks and the roof.
- Assign each location a purpose: identification, plate reading or general view. The purpose sets resolution, lens and maximum distance.
- Review corridors one by one: length, junctions, and columns or hanging signs that create blind spots.
- Study the lighting: atrium skylights, sun-facing doors and dim basement parking.
- Check each field of view with a design tool or a site trial before the bill of quantities is approved.
Panoramic and multi-lens cameras can reduce the count in atriums and open areas, but they do not replace identification cameras at entrances.
Which cameras suit mall car parks?
Entry and exit gates
The regulation requires car park entrances and exits to be covered at plate-reading and identification range. The common solution is an ANPR/LPR camera on each lane, which may be part of an all-in-one entry/exit unit such as the Hikvision DS-TMC407-EH, combining the capture unit, barrier and display. Read accuracy depends on mounting angle, vehicle speed and lighting; see the licence plate recognition camera for car park entrances.
Basement car parks
Light is low and ceilings are close. Place fixed cameras with good low-light performance along driving lanes, at ramps and at lift and stair entrances.
Open car parks
Large open areas suit a pole-mounted PTZ camera combined with panoramic cameras; AZEIDK supplies PTZ cameras from Hikvision and Dahua. Article 8 of the regulation requires a privacy mask to be added and enabled on cameras with pan and zoom, and on rooftop cameras whose range exceeds the site boundary, to block neighbouring private areas.
Are people counting cameras used in malls?
Yes. Dahua lists People Counting and Heat Map, based on visitor numbers and dwell time, among the functions of its WizMind series, which AZEIDK supplies. Mall management uses this to see visitor flow by hour and entrance.
The regulatory side comes first. Article 10 of the regulation bars unauthorised parties from processing or analysing recordings, and allows processing that does not identify individuals with the directorate’s approval. Confirm the approval before enabling visitor analytics, and mount the counting camera above the entrance, separate from the identification camera. For a comparison of analytics across brands, see AI CCTV cameras.
How is central monitoring managed in a mall?
Article 3 of the regulation sets direct controls on the system equipment and the control room:
- Equipment installed in secure, clean locations under continuous monitoring by the facility.
- Storage media dedicated to the surveillance system only, with no connection to other networks except under National Cybersecurity Authority requirements and with the Ministry’s approval.
- Access limited to authorised persons, with a log of their entries and exits.
- Immediate reporting through the electronic platform of any fault that stops the cameras, and repair as quickly as possible.
Article 5 requires the cameras to be connected to operations rooms according to the site sensitivity classification in Annex 1 of the regulation, so confirm the mall’s classification before designing the link. Fitting out the room itself, with the video wall, operator workstations and VMS, is covered in security control room setup. Owners running several malls or branches can read multi-branch CCTV central monitoring.
Integration with fire alarm and access control
Since emergency exits, assembly points and fire equipment locations must be covered, the operator can watch the zone and follow the evacuation during an alarm. At design stage, a signal from the fire alarm panel can be linked to the VMS so the zone’s cameras appear automatically on the operator screen, provided the panel and software support the chosen interface; check both datasheets. Cameras do not replace detection and alarm, and fire system design for malls is covered in mall and commercial building fire safety.
Doors with access control on escape routes, such as admin offices, service rooms and staff entrances, must release on fire alarm in line with the authority having jurisdiction. Wiring of the controller, maglock and release signal is explained in access controller wiring. AZEIDK carries out this work under its programming and systems integration service.
Storage and network sizing for a mall
Disk capacity is calculated per project from:
- Camera count and resolution; identification and plate-reading cameras need more resolution than overview cameras.
- Compression (H.265 or H.264) and frame rate.
- Recording mode, continuous or motion-based. Mall corridors are busy most of the trading day, so motion recording saves less than expected.
- The retention period set in the conditions document, which is the basis of the calculation.
- An incident margin: Article 6 requires recordings to be kept after a reported security incident until the investigation ends or the retention period expires, whichever is longer.
- Protection against disk failure with RAID or redundant recording for critical cameras.
Bandwidth for each switch and inter-floor link is sized the same way; see CCTV storage and bandwidth calculation.
Privacy and warning signs inside the mall
The law prohibits cameras in changing rooms, toilets and medical examination rooms, which in a mall means fitting rooms, public toilets and clinics. Other controls:
- Warning signs in a visible place at every entrance and exit, in the designs set out in the conditions document.
- No audio recording and no thermal cameras without the directorate’s approval.
- No transfer or publication of recordings except with the approval of the Ministry or the Presidency of State Security, by court order, or at the request of the competent investigating authority.
- The directorate issues a certificate confirming the installation requirements are met, and licensing bodies may not issue or renew a licence without it (Article 4 of the regulation).
Full obligations are in our article on the Saudi Security Surveillance Cameras Law.
Common mistakes in mall CCTV
- Estimating camera numbers by floor area without working through the regulation’s location list.
- Using one camera type everywhere, so faces at glazed entrances appear dark.
- Relying on a general camera at car park gates with no clear plate reading.
- Sizing storage on quiet hours, or sharing storage media with other systems contrary to Article 3.
- Running PTZ cameras without a privacy mask.
- A control room with no access log for authorised staff, or no plan to link the fire alarm and doors.
Frequently asked questions
What is the CCTV law in Saudi Arabia?
The Security Surveillance Cameras Use Law, issued by Royal Decree No. M/34 dated 7/3/1444 AH, and its executive regulation published on 9 June 2023. Together they set the locations to be covered and the rules on retention, access and privacy.
Do shops inside malls need external cameras?
No. The regulation exempts shops inside enclosed shopping centres from installing external cameras for the shop. Corridors and shared entrances stay with the mall system.
How much does a mall CCTV installation cost?
It is set after counting from the drawings: camera numbers and types, storage, network, control room and integration. The factors are explained in CCTV system cost factors in Saudi Arabia.
Best CCTV for malls: Hikvision or Dahua?
AZEIDK supplies both, and Bosch where the consultant specifies it. Choose by location purpose (identification, plate reading, wide view or analytics), then by compatibility with the VMS.
Do CCTV cameras work during a power cut?
Only if recorders, switches and cameras are fed from a backup source such as a UPS or generator. Size the backup on load and required runtime; any fault that stops the cameras must be reported through the platform.
How do you protect a mall CCTV system from hacking?
Use a dedicated camera network, change default passwords, update firmware from the manufacturer’s source, restrict remote access, and follow National Cybersecurity Authority requirements when connecting to other networks.
Can mall cameras be viewed on a phone?
Technically yes, through the manufacturers’ apps, but access is limited to authorised, logged users, and any link to external networks is subject to cybersecurity requirements and Ministry approval.
Summary
Start from the regulation’s location list and choose for each location the camera that serves its purpose: a clear face at the entrance, a readable plate at the car park gate, an overview of the atrium. Then add a secure control room, storage sized on the retention period, and links to the fire alarm and doors.
Planning CCTV for a mall or shopping centre? Send us the floor and car park drawings and we will review the required locations, camera types and storage for each zone with you. See our solutions for malls and commercial buildings, or contact the AZEIDK team
