CCTV systems - Cameras can offer public protection

The public should welcome the installation of CCTV systems in 17 more areas around the country — in towns as widespread as Drogheda, Sligo, Kinsale, Dungarvan, Athlone, and Clonmel.

They new systems, announced by Justice Minister Michael McDowell yesterday, should be up and running by the end of the year. This will bring the number of CCTV systems in operation to 26 from the nine already in place.

Some object to these cameras as an infringement of people’s privacy, but they do provide a degree of protection for everyone going about their daily lives in a law-abiding way. The people who have to fear the system are those contemplating criminal acts within view of the cameras.

If one were to question the announcement, it would not be about the actual implementation, but why it has taken so long to avail of such modern technology? Experience has shown that it not enough to announce the introduction of a CCTV system, or even to put the cameras in place; the resources must also be provided to operate them. In some of the nine areas where the cameras are already operating, there were distinct difficulties in allocating the necessary resources to ensure that they were used to best effect.

Hopefully, provisions have been already made to ensure that the new systems are implemented properly without further delay. There must be no room for any suspicion that the announcement is an election gimmick and the actual implementation a matter for post-election consideration.