CCTV in limbo in Cork communities
A lack of policy and direction has left crime affected communities in Cork “in limbo” with CCTV systems that have been installed but never switched on.
That’s according to Sinn Féin Cllr Danielle Twomey who is calling on Cork County Council to put pressure on the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and An Garda Síochána to sign off on protocols that would allow widespread rollout of state-of-the-art CCTV systems.
“One of the most vital tools available to our gardaí in the prevention, deterrence and prosecution of crime is access to CCTV. In my own town of Midleton, we have a state-of-the-art CCTV system installed in the fundamental areas in our streetscape which covers some of our main hotspots of crime, and the main street, but it's not turned on,” Cllr Twomey said at Monday’s full meeting of Cork County Council.
She continued: “This is the case in other areas within the county also. I am also aware of other towns that have had funds ringfenced for community CCTV and have not seen any progress in installation.
“We are being told that the reason we have no working CCTV is because we are waiting for policy and direction in terms of GDPR costs, etc.
“In 2021, at a Joint Policing Committee meeting, members were told that we were weeks away from a standardised protocol for the country.”
Cllr Twomey asked that Cork County Council write to the LGMA and ask exactly what stage it is at in the process of devising and implementing the necessary protocol.
She said: “Every time this issue is brought up at council level, I always felt that the cost issue was the most important in determining the category of resolution of the issue, but as crime stats rise, we as a local authority need to do our part.”
Fine Gael Cllr John Paul O’Shea agreed with Cllr Twomey that CCTV is crucial for Cork communities but said it must be done right.
He said: “I think it's imperative for us as a council to ensure whatever position we come to, that we do follow the appropriate avenue going forward so that, if there is a requirement for the authorities to look at the CCTV, that they are doing it in the appropriate fashion.”
Fine Gael Cllr Susan McCarthy added: “It just so happens that I'm from the same town as Cllr Twomey and I also happen to live on the main street of that town. My husband and I have a business on that street and we have had two incidents since the CCTV was installed, two criminal offences. There was CCTV in place yet we could not use it.”
In her response to Cllr Twomey, Patricia Liddy, Director of Services, Corporate Services, Cork County Council, wrote: “In February 2022, the LGMA informed us that there are no further updates to the pending bill relating to the proposed legislative model for community CCTV. I confirm that Cork County Council is awaiting the approval of this bill before considering the implementation of additional community CCTV schemes, and that funding mechanisms are contiguous with the passing of same.”