A Garda portal for uploading cyclist and dash-camera footage of road traffic offences is now not expected to be ready for public use until 2025 according to the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.
Back in April, this website reported how the then Minister said that the Garda portal would be in place in 2024 “at the earliest”, this has now changed to that it is “envisaged that the introduction of such an online portal will be during 2025”.
The latest update comes following a parliamentary question from TD Patrick Costello (Green Party) who asked the Minister for Justice to provide an update on the status of the project.
In a written response, Minister McEntee said: “As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including all operational policing matters. As Minister, I have no role in how An Garda Síochána investigates any criminal activity or collects evidence.”
“To be of assistance, I sought the information requested by the Deputy from An Garda Síochána and have been advised that it is envisaged that the mechanism for An Garda Síochána to accept video footage from the public will be via an online portal,” she said.
The response said: “I am also advised that uploading the footage will necessitate having a Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS) to store, manage and process any footage received. I understand that it is planned to introduce such a DEMS as part of the implementation of body-worn camera (BWC) technology in An Garda Síochána, as it is also a fundamental building block for the deployment of an enterprise-scale BWC solution across the organisation.”
She said that the project to introduce Garda body-worn cameras and Digital Evidence Management System is underway, with the rollout planned on a phased basis. The first stage is to be “a limited proof of concept deployment” of body cameras which is planned to commence in the first half of 2024.
Minister McEntee said: “I am informed by the Garda authorities that this proof of concept will of necessity be limited in scope but will provide learnings and be used as valuable operational input for the next and substantive stage of the project, the national procurement and rollout of body-worn cameras including the introduction of a Digital Evidence Management System.”
The same Digital Evidence Management System will, Minister McEntee added: “Support the use of an online portal to enable the public to upload and submit video footage to An Garda Síochána. I am informed that it is currently envisaged that the introduction of such an online portal will be during 2025.”
The portal is being phrased as “accept video footage from the public will be via an online portal” and in the Road Safety Strategy it is phrased as an “online portal for road users to upload footage of road traffic offences which could assist in prosecution”. IrishCycle.com this afternoon has asked the Department for Justice and the Gardai if the portal will include a reporting function or if statements will still have to be taken in a Garda station — this website will report on this further once replies are forthcoming.
Wouldn’t be much of a digital system if it still required going down to the garda station for the local guard to try and dissuade us from making a complaint. I see no mention of recruiting and training of resources to review and act upon the videos uploaded. No doubt that will postpone the implementation to 2026…
A familiar pattern of lack of implementation and delay while every day motorists and bike users coast through pedestrian crossing red lights in front of me as I look to cross the road, because they know they will not get caught. In fact, I increasingly, and disturbingly see N plate drivers that have already developed these behaviours. It is endemic to driving culture here thanks to a useless enforcement system.
I am completely against this and I am also against Gardai using personal cameras, in the general sense.
In addition I am also further concerned about the potential abuse of it with AI in both situations.
Drivers can mount permanent Cams inside their cars, but cyclists have to put them on , take them off all day long, every day.
I bought one for front and back, but the put on-take off routine was a nuisance, so I packed it in.
As a result drivers will have automatic cam recordings all the time but cyclists will only rarely have it.
Thus it will be one-sided and cause more difficulties for cyclists.