Garda will not use CCTV to ‘snoop’
Superintendent Frank O’Brien made the comments yesterday as he defended the fact that new systems recently installed in two suburbs are not the subject of ongoing Garda monitoring. However, he said he would like to see the new systems in Southill and Ballinacurra Weston monitored by teams drawn from the communities.
There has been political criticism that the CCTV systems installed in Southill and Ballinacurra Weston are not connected to a control room in Henry Street Garda headquarters. Gardaí in the control room view ongoing live footage fed onto screens from cameras which cover all the city centre, 24/7.
Supt O’Brien, who heads the Roxboro Garda district, said gardaí have no desire to “snoop” on communities going about their daily live, and that this is policy.
The two new systems in Southill and Ballinacurra Weston cost €500,000.
The Southill system was installed by the Southside Regeneration Board at a cost of €300,000.
Public funding was also provided for the €200,000 CCTV system in Ballinacurra Weston.
Supt O’Brien said there are Garda protocols and guidelines on the use of CCTV. These allow gardaí ongoing monitoring of city centre settings, but these guidelines do not encourage gardaí to have equal access in community settings.
Supt O’Brien said they are able to access back footage from the two community systems when carrying out investigations.
However, he said they would like to have community-based monitoring so that gardaí can be alerted in the event of an incident of likelihood of an incident.
Councillor Kevin Kiely, FG, chairman of the city’s joint policing committee, said the new systems were money badly spent if they cannot be connected to the Henry Street control room.
Cllr Jim Long said: “I’d question whether spending €500,000 on a system that isn’t joined up with the gardaí is a good way to spend taxpayers’ money.”
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