Laois Gardaí to come on board in big change to community CCTV operation

Laois community alert representatives will no longer go to in court if Gardaí are using CCTV footage in criminal cases under a new agreement with Laois County Council.

That is according to Donal Brennan, the Director of Services with the local authority who has responsibility for overseeing CCTV Data Protection compliance in local schemes.

Mr Brennan briefed county councillors on the change at a meeting of the Borris-in-Ossory Mountmellick Municipal District where a public representative called on the council to ‘cut through the red tape’ to help schemes in Laois prevent robberies and other criminality.

He said a new approach follows a national agreement whereby the Gardaí and the council would be the joint data controller.

A previous agreement which has been slow to materialise, involved the Council being the sole agency responsible for the data collected on cameras. Rules around CCTV use tightened significantly under the GDPR legislation. It meant that all CCTV must have an authorised entity that would be responsible for footage taken. 

Mr Brennan said he shared the concerns of councillors caused by the data controller problem. He acknowledged that communities also get a real sense of security from the cameras.

He highlighted as positive development engagement with Laois Gardaí to work out a new agreement.

“There has been a change in process on two fronts nationally. On the advice of the Data Protection Commissioner, the County Council would not be the sole data controller but would be a joint data controller with the Gardaí,” he said.

He said work is underway to finalise a local agreement to implement this.

“It will mean that the Gardaí will be able to directly download (footage) without going to the community (alert) groups which will be of huge benefit,” he said.

Mr Brennan said under the change a named member of a community group will not have to certify in court that he or she downloaded the footage for use by gardaí.

“This agreement has been a huge improvement that e are determined to sign off on,” he said.

Mr Brennan hoped that it will in place by the next Laois Joint Policing Committee meeting in March.

He explained that reaching this new approach had slowed down schemes but the it would be of benefit in future.

The Director of Services said Mountmellick would be the first scheme where gardaí would come on board followed by Woodenbridge and Donaghmore. He added that up to 12 schemes in Laois would have to come under the same new process. 

On the other side of the coin Mr Brennan said that groups that wish to erect cameras must have a draft data processing impact assessment completed before applying to the gardaí for approval for a scheme.

Heretofore, this draft could be prepared after the cameras went up and the gardaí had given the green light. Garda approval is also necessary to get Department of Justice funding for cameras.

Mr Brennan said this would mean more up front work for community alert schemes but it could make the process simpler after the gardaí approve a scheme.

He added that this process has yet to be fully worked out but he said the council will work with all the schemes in Laois. He also hoped that the Department would continue to fund the groups and the council to roll out the changes.

He reminded the councillors that Limerick County Council was recently fined €100,000 for CCTV use.

“It shows that the Data Protection Commission is taking this ultra seriously. We have to tick every box, cross every t and dot every i,” he said.

The data controller issue has delayed some communities putting up cameras. In other parts, existing cameras are illegal because there is now data controller. 

Councillors welcomed this news but there was frustration with the pace of resolving the data protection issue.

Cllr Ollie Clooney, Independent, said cameras were erected in the Dunmore area near Durrow six years ago. He said Laois County Council agreed to be the data controller three years ago. 

“Nothing was done,” he said.

He said the recent robberies reported in the media have frightened people but cameras are an effective deterrent.

“Once we put up the cameras (in Dunmore) we saw a dramatic lowering of crime. It was virtually wiped out. We do not want to get complacent. We have the cameras up, we need to have it regulated.

“This is an urgent thing. It cannot be put on the back burner. We have to cut through the blooming red tape,” he said.

Cllr John King, Fine Gael, welcomed the update as "excellent news". 

Cllr Conor Bergin, Fine Gael, also welcomed the news. He said there have been a spate of break-ins on his own road in recent times. He said burglaries put “terrible fear” in people. He hoped a resolution would work.

“The CCTV is wonderful but the regulations are crazy,” he said.

Cllr James Kelly, Independent, was also frustrated at the pace of resolving the data protection issue.

“We have been talking since 2014 as to who is going to do what - here we are eight years later,” he said.