Local group defends CCTV scheme
Dublin People 09 Jun 2012
A LOCAL area partnership has defended its role in the
management of a CCTV scheme that was installed to combat open drug dealing at a
shop- ping centre and nearby park on the Southside.
Cllr Gino Kenny (PBP) has called for an inquiry after it
emerged that footage from a CCTV scheme installed at the Neilstown Shopping Centre
and nearby Collinstown Park at a cost of
?¬190,000 in 2007 was never monitored.
The Clondalkin Commu- nity Development Programme, which has
since evolved into the Clondalkin, Palmerstown, Lucan and Newcastle Partnership
(CPLN), received the money in grant aid from the Department of Justice to establish
the CCTV scheme in 2007.
Local area partnerships such as the CPLN work in com-
munities to tackle socio-economic disadvantage.
The CPLN has come in for sharp criticism from Cllr Kenny who
claimed the scheme was a waste of taxpayers’ money because the footage recorded
by the cameras was never moni- tored.
“The cameras have become ornaments for the past number of
years,
? Cllr Kenny said.
“It’s unbelievable that taxpayers’ money has been
spent on these cameras and basically they have never been monitored.
“The CPLN, which has
the ultimate responsibility in relation to the matter, have questions to
answer.
“There had been talk of Ronanstown Garda Station taking
responsibility for monitoring the CCTV cameras but this should have been done
from the start rather than a community based monitoring system that was never
going to work. From the start this project has been a debacle.
?
The acting chief executive of the CPLN, Larry O’Neill,
confirmed that the CCTV systems at both locations were never monitored despite
the fact that the cameras were recording footage.
He said it was not originally intended to monitor the
footage at the outset of the scheme in 2007.
“The system was installed and it has been recording ever since,
?
he said.
“It was never intended in the original project that the footage would
be monitored.
“I know the gardai have accessed the equipment on occasions
but I wouldn’t be at liberty to say when.
“The aim of the scheme was that if an incident occurred in
any of the areas that we covered, the local gardai could talk to us and the
Data Protection officer in the county council and they could actually get a
copy of the disc.
“I am not saying that this was the correct way to design the
project but when we took it over there was no arrangement, no funding and no
talk whatsoever about monitoring.
?
He also pointed out that the CPLN has now handed the scheme
over to South Dublin County Council, which he said was due to begin monitoring
the footage shortly.
“We [CPLN] brought ongoing monitoring into the debate,
? Mr
O’Neill added.
“We have worked with Ronanstown Garda station and the local
inspector there to get the monitoring up and running and lately the county
council has agreed to take over the entire scheme.
“Live monitoring will only work if the gardai are able to
have the resources to react to what they see on the camera.
?
Mr O’Neill said he did not know if any charges had ever been
brought against any individuals as a consequence of evidence gleaned from
footage captured on the CCTV cameras since 2007.
He said that the CPLN did incur further costs after 2007 regarding
the operation of the CCTV cameras but he was unable to specify the level of
spending involved.
Billy Coman, the Director of Housing, Social and Com- munity
Development at South Dublin County Council, said he expected the council to be
in a position to commence monitor- ing the CCTV cameras shortly.
“There have been protracted negotiations between CPLN, the
council and the gardai regarding a monitoring system similar to that in
operation at Tallaght Garda Station and this involved a necessary upgrade of
the system,
? he said.
“A number of technical is- sues had also to be overcome and it
is anticipated that all necessary works will be completed with the next week or
two.
?
A spokesman at the Garda press office said discussions
concerning the CCTV was on- going between all stakeholders.
Southside People also asked the spokesman if gardai had ever
charged anyone with an offence or cautioned anyone in connection with evidence
gathered from CCTV footage at the Neilstown Shopping Centre or Collinstown
Park.
The spokesman said that finding out whether any individuals
were ever charged or cautioned on foot of CCTV coverage would
“involve a
disproportionate use of Garda resources
?.
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