Tipperary Cllr Noel Coonan is welcoming progress on the development of comprehensive Tipperary County Council policy to govern Community CCTV systems. The Councillor is the Chairperson of the Joint Policing Committee and is deeply frustrated at delays in implementing CCTV systems in towns and villages where community activists have driven such campaigns. The Council has developed a Draft CCTV Policy Document to be approved at the Community and Enterprise Strategic Policy Committee (December 1st) and subsequently the full 40-member Council. Details of the potential costs for ongoing maintenance and upgrades has yet to be provided by the Council Executive.
All schemes must be approved by the Garda Commissioner before they can be implemented. This is to ensure that all legal requirements are observed and that footage on the system can be relied upon in any subsequent criminal proceedings.
Cllr Coonan also notes that Tipperary Council and An Garda Siochana both feel that the provision of CCTV is not their area of responsibility especially given budgetary constraints.
Tipperary County Council is also cautious about implementing CCTV schemes without having a funding stream for future maintenance and upgrades available – the Department of Justice provides capital funding for installation on a 60/40 basis according to Councillor Coonan.
€70,000 was allocated for CCTV in the Budget adopted for 2024 by Tipperary County Council and Councillors will be faced with the challenge of finding extra funding in the coming years. Cllr Coonan informed last week’s Budget meeting that Colm O’Sullivan, Chief Superintendent for Tipperary/Clare considers community CCTV to be as valuable as the presence of 10 Garda in preventing crime.
The policy will set out a framework for applications to be submitted but CCTV will not be automatically rolled out by the Council in the absence of a community request and community involvement in securing funding.
