Courts

Drew Harris concedes body-worn cameras open to potential abuse by rogue gardaí

As system is introduced in Limerick, commissioner says devices were very effective in policing recent disorder in Coolock

Gardaí with body-worn cameras attached to their uniforms speak to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. Photograph: Conor Ó Mearáin/Collins
Gardaí with body-worn cameras attached to their uniforms speak to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. Photograph: Conor Ó Mearáin/Collins
David Raleigh
Thu Aug 01 2024 - 16:50

The body-worn camera system being piloted by gardaí in Dublin and Limerick is open to potential abuse by rogue members of the force, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has conceded.

However, he warned that gardaí would face dismissal and potential criminal prosecution if found to have shared or leaked footage of incidents captured by the devices.

“An investigating member obviously has to review the footage in terms of [preparing] a file, so if somebody really wants to act outside our rules and instructions and indeed our discipline code, then on their head be it,” Mr Harris told reporters in Limerick.

He said the camera system is “secure” and recorded footage cannot be tampered with, but he accepted members would have limited opportunities to film recorded footage using a mobile phone or other device and share it with others.

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“They would, in effect, have to be recording it from a screen during a playback session and that, in effect, would be regarded very seriously, a breach of privacy, and in certain circumstances, it would have to be regarded as a complete breach of trust and, in effect, gross misconduct,” the commissioner said as the body-worn camera system was launched in the Limerick Garda division on Thursday.

The body-worn camera system will soon be extended to Waterford. There have been no incidents to date of any member sharing or leaking footage from it, Mr Harris said.

He said the cameras worn by members attached to Store Street station in Dublin were very effective in policing and managing “serious disorder” in Coolock, where more than 30 people were arrested last month following disturbances at a site planned for use as asylum-seeker accommodation.

The commissioner said audio recordings taken by the cameras were as important as video footage as it could provide key evidence “as to what’s been said, and the intent of individuals”. He said gardaí had secured “48 pieces of evidential footage” from a single deployment of members to the recent Coolock disturbances.

He said this would be submitted as part of the evidence aimed at identifying people “who may have committed offences and will subsequently be reported to the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions]”.

Mr Harris said the cameras are providing “very important evidence, be it during arrests in terms of drink driving, searches, domestic abuse incidents and incidents of sexual assaults where you are recording the first complaint of the victim”. He said hundreds of pieces of evidence taken from the cameras are awaiting DPP approval or have been used in the courts.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, who also attended the event in Limerick, said she wanted every member of An Garda Síochána to have access to body-worn cameras.

She said gardaí using them in Dublin have reported feeling “more protected” as a result of the cameras and that they have “de-escalated potentially dangerous stations”.

She said she intended to publish legislation after the Dáil’s summer recess that would allow gardaí more scope to use facial recognition technology, which may include linking “retrospective evidence from body worn cameras to potentially identify suspects”.

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