DFSAA Comment on CCTV for Galway

galway | miscellaneous | press release Tuesday October 21, 2003 04:14 by Orla Ni Chomhrai - DFSAA nichomhrai at eircom dot net

DFSAA Expresses Concern over CCTV Plans for City Centre,

In it's submission to the Department of Justice on the plans for extensive CCTV surveillance of the city, the committee for the Defend Free Speech, Assembly and Activity group expressed some concerns over the manner in which these plans were being dealt with and some aspects of CCTV systems.

As the monitors were already in place in the Garda station before the time for submissions was up, DFSAA spokesperson Orla Ní Chomhraí said that it was clear that 'the decision to introduce a large number of cameras to the city had already been made, and will unlikely be affected by any submissions made.' The whole tone a letter from the Dept.of Justice in answer to a query about the CCTV, gives the impression that the decision has already been made and the request for submissions is merely a formality. We learn from this letter that the contract for the work on the CCTV system was awarded in March 2002, that work has been ongoing in various locations, including Galway, and that the monitors are already in place in a Garda station in Galway.

The DFSAA also expressed concern over the invasion of privacy which would occur with the introduction of so many CCTV cameras in the city centre. As an example of how far this can go they cited the case of London, where they pointed out that the average person is estimated to be caught on camera up to 300 times a day, which would be approximately 109,500 times a year! In their submission to the Department of Justice the DFSAA mention a case in Canada where the Privacy Commissioner, George Radwanski, found continuous surveillance in downtown Kelowna to be unlawful. In his letter of explanation the Commissioner said:

""By recording continuously, as opposed to recording only selective incidents relating to law enforcement activities, the RCMP [mounted police force] was unnecessarily collecting information on thousands of innocent citizens engaged in activities irrelevant to the mandate of the RCMP...

Privacy is a fundamental human right, recognized as such by the United Nations. The level and quality of privacy in our country risks being struck a crippling, irreparable blow if we allow ourselves to become subjected to constant, unrelenting surveillance and observation through the lens of proliferating video cameras controlled by the police or any other agents of the state."

The DFSAA is concerned that the CCTV cameras, as proposed, will result in people effectively being subject to arbitrary searches for information (by camera), without any warrant, criminal charge, or even criminal act.

The DFSAA is also pointed to the possibility for misuse and abuse of the system. They point out that Councillor Catherine Connolly (of the Labour Party) has also expressed concern over the possibility of inappropriate use in the future and knows of a case in Galway where this has already occurred. The DFSAA is particularly worried about the dangers of individuals from particular social or political groups being singled out for monitoring - not because of any criminal act, but because of their association with a particular group or activity. The fear of being recorded and/or observed while engaged in political or trade union activity may deter some people from engaging in their democratic right.

As well as these considerations there is the evidence that CCTV is not a particularly effective deterrent against most crime, and sometimes only has the effect of displacing crime from one area to another. According to UK Home Office study, published in 2002, CCTV cameras are largely ineffective as a deterrent against crime in city centres, particularly violent crime. Vast amounts of spending on CCTV may not be the best use of resources. In Galway city alone it will cost over 500,000 to install the cameras and monitors, and then there will be the annual running costs.

Though not ruling out the use of CCTV in all circumstances, the DFSAA thinks that greater awareness of the limitations and negative effects of CCTV might lead to more consideration of other, possibly better, options. They are concerned at the manner in which the Department of Justice put the monitors in place (in the Garda station) before the deadline for submissions was even over. Orla Ní Chomhraí states that "this probably means that any submissions expressing concerns over the limited effectiveness of CCTV, and the dangers of misuse, will be set aside so that the Department of Justice can carry on with their plans."
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I can send a copy of the actual submission to anyone by e-mail if they are interested (it goes into the issue in more detail).