Roll-out of body camera use by gardaí will begin in 2025, but the cameras will normally only be switched on when members are using their Garda powers, a briefing on the technology’s introduction was told on Tuesday.
The cameras are not “surveillance devices” and consultations with more than 20 European and North American police organisations shows the cameras are only used on average for a few minutes per shift by police officers. The footage cannot be live streamed for facial-recognition purposes.
“Policing has to digitalise to keep people safe in a digital age,” Andrew O’Sullivan, chief information officer with An Garda Síochána, told the briefing, which was held as the force published a request for information on body-worn cameras (BWC) and digital-evidence-management systems on the EU tenders website.
The cameras are “an essential modern policing tool”, Mr O’Sullivan said.
Indicators on the cameras, which are likely to be worn by members on their chest, facing forward, will show when they are switched on but it has not yet been decided as to whether a member has to inform a member of the public when a garda is switching on a camera, Chief Supt Derek Smart told the briefing.
The use of the cameras must be “proportionate, legitimate and necessary” and will usually only occur when a member is using his or her Garda powers, he said.
Although public-order disturbances would see the use of the cameras, ordinary non-violent protests would not. Decisions on whether to switch the cameras on when entering a person’s home would depend on the reason for entering the home.
The encrypted high-resolution footage gathered by the cameras would not be accessible until the cameras are put into a docking system at a Garda station, from where the footage would be transferred to a central storage facility.
Footage not tagged as needed for an identified investigation will be automatically deleted after a certain period. The average time frame among police forces consulted was after 31 days, and it is likely that a similar period will be made policy in Ireland.
People can make data access requests during this period but only for material that qualifies as their data and not for other parts of the same footage. Requests for material held for the purposes of investigations can be refused until a case is closed.
Chief Insp Smart said different police forces had different policies in relation to the public release of footage linked to allegations of misconduct or violence against police officers and a policy on this would be developed here.
He said the use of body cameras internationally has led to a reduction of complaints against members, and has increased safety for officers.
It is likely the digital evidence management system will include a public portal for the uploading of dash cam footage by members of the public, said Tim Willoughby, Garda head of innovation and digital services.
The request for information is a first step in the public procurement process and includes requests for information about proven business and technical solutions, best practice, and recommendations that will assist the Garda.
A live operation pilot programme is scheduled for 2024, with a full roll-out to begin afterwards “commencing incrementally in 2025 before completion in 2026”, according to a document produced for the briefing. A public consultation process will also take place.
The law does not allow for the use of facial-recognition technology on footage collected by body cameras at the moment but the Government has said it will provide a legislative basis for such use.
The initiation of the procurement process was welcomed by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, who said she will be working to pass legislation to allow the use of the technology “as soon as possible”.
“I believe it is essential to delivering on Government’s aim to ensure An Garda Síochána is a leading-edge, modern police service fit for the digital age,” she said.
When will body worn cameras be used?
Body worn cameras to be used by members of An Garda Síochána will normally be turned off, according to the Garda.
The international experience is that the cameras are switched on for only a few minutes per shift, on average, and it is expected that the same will be the case in this jurisdiction.
The cameras will be turned on when responding to an incident or when using Garda powers such as conducting an arrest or entering a property, for instance, as part of a drugs search. Recording then continues until it is “no longer proportionate or necessary”, according to the briefing.
It will not be the practice to have the cameras turned on as a matter of course when a garda is on the beat, or observing, for instance, a protest march.
An indicator light will show that recording is taking place. It has not yet been decided to what extent, if any, a member of the public must be informed that recording is taking place, or about to begin.
An Garda Síochána is to develop and publish a public policy on camera use, and provide internal guidance to garda members, prior to use of the cameras being rolled out.
