Tag Archives: cctv

A RISE in theft from shops is putting small business owners under severe pressure, Clare’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) has heard.  An increase of 69% in reported incidents was revealed by Chief Superintendent Seán Colleran, who said the spike seems to coincide with the reopening of the economy. The figures relate to the period of November to January when compared to the same period in 2020/21. “The one thing about theft form shops is that there’s quite a high detection rate,” the Chief said. “Whereas the figure itself can be alarming, certainly we have strong investigative processes for that.” Nonetheless, the numbers were described by Councillor Pat Daly as “alarming”. “There are shops who can’t afford CCTV and they are being robbed every day of the week,” he said. “I would appeal to our Oireachtas members to see if grant support can be provided because every shop should have CCTV. In this day and age, there should be some sort …

CLARITY has once again been sought over the use of CCTV to convict those involved in illegal dumping, in light of concerns raised the Data Protection Commissioner about remotely-operated cameras. A question was tabled at the November meeting of the local authority by Councillor Alan O’Callaghan, asking whether or not footage could be used in prosecutions. The Fianna Fáil member noted that the issue had come up at the most recent meeting of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC). He said he had been “taken aback” by the advice given there. “It seems that the Data Protection Commissioner has highlighted issues,” he said, “however, we all watch programs where Gardaí make appeals for dashcam footage. It’s very frustrating. We are trying to battle dumping and littering issues across Clare.” Councillor O’Callaghan noted that his party colleague Councillor Cillian Murphy had drawn his attention to an article reporting that 64 littering fines were issued in Tipperary thanks to the use of CCTV …

A ‘MINEFIELD’, is one of the words used by members of Clare’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) to describe data protection regulations, which currently prevent the council from using remotely-operated CCTV to stamp out illegal dumping. Outlining the current legal situation under GDPR, Senior Engineer Cyril Feeney said it appears that the only viable option is to ask the permission of the Garda Commissioner. Mr Feeney outlined the council’s powers under the Waste Management Act, and noted that that legislation does not allow the remote operation of CCTV. “We have seen an uptick in illegal dumping with Covid-19,” Mr Feeny said. “It is of particular concern in parts of South East Clare. We undertook a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) to see what the implications of the CCTV option might be, and found that GDPR would apply and that we would need the consent of those engaging in illegal dumping and clearly that is not going to happen.” Explaining a proposal …

GRIEVING families are “distraught” and feel their deceased loved ones are being “forgotten about” after being buried in part of Drumcliff cemetery. While reports of items disappearing from graves in the older section of the cemetery has been condemned as “appalling and upsetting” sparking calls for CCTV cameras to be installed. Councillor Mark Nestor, speaking at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, urged works are needed to improve the layout of the burial ground and provide greater connectivity between the old and new sections. He pointed out that there is a row of trees acting as a barrier between two sections. He outlined that people who have family members buried in Drumcliff are “in a very, very bad way and are very distraught at the layout of the graveyard.” He said, “Those who have people buried in the new section feel very much they have been forgotten about and left out. If you look at the whole row of …

Clare County Council is to install CCTV cameras, both covert and mounted, around Shragh Bog in Doonbeg in the hope of shedding light on those responsible for the indiscriminate dumping of domestic waste in the locality. Doonbeg Development Association has ambitious plans to develop walking routes around the parish and have just started work on the provision of a looped walking route at Shragh Bog. However, members of the association were infuriated to discover that the route, a short distance from the Wild Atlantic Way, has become a major blackspot and the scale of illegal dumping “defied belief”. Clare County Council’s environmental community warden for West and North Clare, Conor Leyden has been working with the group in an effort to address the issue and next Tuesday he has organised for a private contractor to be on site for a major clean up operation. “Doonbeg community group is very proactive and doing great work on the ground in the village, …

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan has today (Wednesday) announced that his department will be providing additional financial support to Community Text Alert Groups in 2017. The Rebate Scheme, which also ran in 2016, will allow Text Alert Groups registered with An Garda Síochána to apply for funding to contribute towards their yearly running costs. Speaking at the National Ploughing Championships,Minister Flanagan said, “The Text Alert Rebate Scheme which will be available to almost 1,000 local groups registered under the Garda Text Alert Scheme. My Department will be making in the region of €100,000 available to local communities who wish to apply for a rebate towards the costs associated with running their local scheme. We are also assisting in the prevention and detection oflocal crime through the recently announced grant-aid scheme to assist the establishment of community-based CCTV systems. This scheme will run for three years, with up to €1million being made available for each year of the …

COMPARED to other towns of similar size like Tralee or Kilkenny, Ennis ranks amongst the lower end of the crime statistics and crimes have been decreasing steadily in the area since 2008, according to official figures. There was a drop of nearly 30% from 2008 to figures in 2011 and a continual decrease since. Results from a University of Limerick study show that only 20% of those questioned were ever victim of a crime in Ennis and of these nearly 50% were attributed to anti-social behavior, while and assault only accounted for 10%. These findings are from a recent study on Community Safety and Town Promotion of Ennis administered by UL’s Department of Politics and Public Administration. The research was done in late 2013 with people living, working and using the town of Ennis as a direct outcome from the Ennis 2020 Visioning Framework based on public participation in 2011. The study reveals that the main factors affecting sense of …

CCTV cameras could be installed at Drumcliff burial grounds in a bid to tackle thefts, anti-social behaviour and illegal dumping. At this week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Councillor Mary Howard urged that the council investigate the possibility of putting the cameras at the cemetery. And she was told that Clare County Council is “examining the feasibility” of installing the devices. “Drumcliff should be a quiet place of contemplation but there have been a number of incidences and it has been going on for many years,” she said. She outlined that visitors to the graveyard have come back to their cars to find their windows smashed and belongings taken. “You often find somebody upset that their windows have been smashed when they get back to their car. CCTV is possibly the only way to go in dealing with this,” she said. She also detailed anti-social and intimidating behaviour by large groups of people gathered at the graveyard. In response to …