Just one month after 40 new cameras were activated in the city centre, the system is proving its worth after two high-profile arrests last week.

A serial fraudster was caught absconding to Wollongong train station after stealing three GPS units in Crown St last Tuesday.

The next day, four suspects allegedly involved in an attack on a woman on a bus at Figtree were arrested after being spotted in Crown St Mall's food court.

The CBD is monitored from Piccadilly Centre in the west to WIN Entertainment Centre in the east. Cameras are also located outside major pubs and clubs.

Security officers and mall special constables are constantly watching the screens, and in many cases, recognise people wanted by police.

Police can also tap into the surveillance system at any time from Wollongong Police Station.

Wollongong City Centre general manager Paul Fanning said the cameras were producing strong results, with positive feedback from business owners.

"The city is constantly being monitored with nearly 100 cameras," he said. "There's a high probability that if you do something wrong, you will be caught."

The case of Benjamin Douglas Beaumont, who pleaded guilty to shoplifting last Wednesday, shows how swiftly the system works to catch crooks.

Beaumont walked out of Go-Lo on Crown St last Tuesday with three satellite navigation systems, which had been removed from their boxes, and headed west.

Within minutes, a store employee noticed the theft and contacted city centre security officers, who searched their screens for Beaumont. He was soon found on his way to Wollongong train station.

Moments later security officers arrived at the station and arrested Beaumont after he was found in possession of the stolen property.

If not for the CCTV cameras, he may have vanished.

Mr Fanning said the reason the system had been so successful was the mall special constables had the power of arrest.

"They're not just security guards," he said. "That's why the success rate has been so high."