CCTV only catching one in 10 illegal dump cases
Tuesday July 08 2008
CCTV is failing to combat drug dealing and is only effective in one in 10 instances of illegal dumping, according to Dublin City Council.
The local authority said covert cameras are "only about 10pc effective in actually capturing an event of dumping".
And the council claimed the technology does not provide gardai with proof of drug dealing as in many cases prescription pills -- and not heroin or cocaine -- are being exchanged instead.
The information was released by the council in response to a question tabled by Emer Costello (Labour).
Ms Costello requested that the local authority install CCTV at Annesley Bridge "to survey activities in the vicinity of Fairview Park".
City officials said in a report that there are a number of problems with "passive cameras", which are ones not monitored in real time but viewed after the event.
"The cameras have to be set so as to focus on a single small area, otherwise the footage captured would not be useful in identifying anyone involved in anti-social behaviour," the report stated.
"This requires that the anti-social behaviour happens 'in-shot'. Our experience in setting the mobile covert anti-dumping CCTV to capture instances of dumping in-shot leads us to the conclusion that this approach is only about 10pc effective in actually capturing an event of dumping," it added.
And officials said, even when the dumping has been caught on camera, the council has never actually identified the culprit from the footage.
"Only individuals who know the person or people involved can identify them and most locals are reluctant to identify culprits," they revealed.
Prosecution
The only way a successful prosecution can be brought is by identifying the perpetrator's car registration.
The report concluded that "it is doubtful if CCTV would be of any benefit in improving the anti-social behaviour" near Fairview Park.
- Cormac Murphy
