COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, May 09, 2016
QUESTION NO.21
QUESTION: Councillor L. O'Toole
To ask the Chief Executive for report on Council owned and joint facilities within the County that have CCTV installed.
REPLY:
All CCTV Systems operated by or on behalf of South Dublin County Council operate in compliance with:
- Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003;
- Garda Síochána Act 2005;
- South Dublin County Council’s CCTV Code of Practice, Data Protection Policy and Data Protection Compliance Guidelines;
- Private Security Authority Licensing requirements (Private Security services Act, 2004).
There are currently three main types of CCTV systems in use by the Council. They are:
- Council offices, works depots and libraries;
- Dedicated Traffic Cameras at major junctions and on traffic routes throughout the county;
- Public safety systems in residential and public realm areas eg estate management, parks, playgrounds, recycling facilities.
The purposes for which CCTV systems are installed include:
- To assist in providing for the security and safety of all visitors and staff;
- To monitor and protect Council buildings and facilities;
- To assist real-time monitoring and management of traffic conditions on the national and local road network throughout the county;
- To assist in emergency response situations e.g. accidents, flooding, winter weather conditions etc.;
- To assist in the prevention and detection of crime;
- To facilitate the identification, apprehension and prosecution of offenders in relation to crime and public order offences;
- To assist in the processing of allegations/claims against the Council;
- To assist the enforcement of Council car parking regulations and management of these car parks.
The use of CCTV is signalled by notices placed at entrances to and in prominent locations across the premises/ vicinity.
Community Services
A large majority of the Council’s Community Centres and the Council's Leisure Centres, whether managed directly or indirectly, have CCTV systems installed for a host of reasons including security, child protection, access control and safety. In all cases where CCTV systems are installed appropriate protocols and controls are in place to prevent misuse of the systems and all systems are registered for data protection purposes.
Prior to the retro fitting of a system in any particular case a cost benefit analysis is usually carried out.
Environment Water & Climate Change
There are c 30 locations where CCTV, including 2 Rapid Deployment cameras are installed, the objective of which is to record for security purposes or monitor for illegal dumping and unauthorised activity.
These locations include Depots, Reservoirs, Bring Banks, Playgrounds and MUGAs. All systems are procured under formal procurement procedure and are operated in line with the Council's CCTV Code of Practice.