Lack of proper CCTV systems directly affecting Tipperary crime investigations says local councillor
Cllr Jim Ryan says towns across the county have been waiting for CCTV upgrades for years
A local councillor has argued that the lack of funding and investment in modern CCTV technology across Tipperary cannot continue, and is hampering Gardaí investigations across Tipperary.
Speaking at the Tipperary County Council's monthly meeting on Monday, September 8, Independent Cllr Jim Ryan said the lack of modern security systems is having a negative effect in towns and villages across the Premier County.
"In relation to public CCTV," Cllr Ryan began, "I think it has come to the stage where we need to start putting money aside for the different districts".
"I can give an example of my area in Thurles, we've been waiting years for the CCTV and camera systems to be upgraded, but have failed to do so for a number of reasons. One in particular is the funding aspect, where the District Council have applied for various streams of funding down through the years and have failed to get the money required.
"I think we need to start putting money inside ourselves in our budget, maybe for one CCTV project per district each year. We've been waiting nearly 10 years, 11 years now, for our system to be upgraded, and it still hasn't been upgraded.
"What cannot be allowed to happen is, and there's been a lot of incidents like this on Liberty Square in Thurles, where people have gone to the guards requesting CCTV cameras as evidence of anti-social behavior or assaults or criminal damage, only to be told the camera is not walking. We can't have that going forward.
"The District Council has done everything they can to get the funding, but have failed to do so. So I think internally, we need to start putting money aside for CCTV and camera systems in areas who have failed to get funding publicly for it."
The Council's response stressed that CCTV systems are an important security measure, but that the reality is they can only spend what has been allocated in the budgetary process on cameras and security, which is currently insufficient in terms of supplying each district with modern systems.