The installation of a privately operated CCTV system on Ballaghaderreen’s streets, Co Roscommon, has been a “game changer” for policing and people “now feel safer”, a representative group for the town has said.
Some 26 cameras have been installed across 15 locations in the town as part of a project led and funded by the Ballaghaderreen Town Team, which began in September 2024.
Those behind the initiative said the system has already contributed to Garda investigations into burglary, assault, criminal damage, traffic collisions and recovery of lost property.
A Garda spokesman said the project was operated by a private firm and thus, the force was not in a position to comment.
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The installation of cameras followed a period of disquiet in the town last year over the number of gardaí present and reports of increased crime.
Tensions reached boiling point in November 2024 after it was alleged that one teenager, from a non-Irish background, had sexually assaulted another teen, who came from an Irish background.
Gardaí at the time described the investigation as sensitive and warned of a “significant degree of misinformation” circulating online regarding the case. One year on, gardaí are continuing to investigate the circumstances around the alleged assault and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
A candlelit vigil held shortly after the incident attracted some far-right agitators. However, organisers from Ballaghaderreen insisted the gathering was not prompted by anti-immigrant sentiment and the real focus was a lack of gardaí and resources.
Joe Egan, a retired business owner and member of the Ballaghaderreen Town Team, admitted “some incidents in 2024 may have copper fastened” the need to crack down on crime in the area. However, people’s concerns around resources and security really began nearly three decades ago when there was “huge growth in estates around the town”, he said.
“We didn’t have the capacity in schools or health then. Our population growth is way above the national average, I don’t know of anywhere that rose that quickly and that placed lots of pressure on provisions at a time when Garda numbers were decreasing.”
The population of Ballaghaderreen has grown by more than 65 per cent since 2002, when there were 1,416 people living in the town, according to census figures.
The town now has a population of 2,387, according to the 2022 census, of which 39 per cent are foreign nationals.
In 2016, the population was 1,808, in 2011 there were 1,822 living in the town and in 2006 it was 1,720.
Ballaghaderreen was previously viewed as a model for integration after it accepted 240 Syrian refugees followed by group of Afghan refugees. There has been a Pakistani community in the town since the 1980s, many of who work in the local Halal factory.
A total of 166 crime incidents were recorded by gardaí in Ballaghaderreen in 2024, including 53 theft and related offences and 22 burglary and related offences, according to the Central Statistics Office. This compares to 194 crimes recorded in the town in 2023 and 191 incidents in 2022.
Nearly a decade ago, in 2016, 129 crime incidents were recorded in the town, a significant drop from the 248 crimes recorded in 2011.
The new CCTV initiative has cost the town more than €41,000 and was installed by ETI Security Systems Limited which is based in Ballinrobe, Co Mayo.
The introduction of this system “was years in the making”, said Mr Egan. “It’s something we knew we needed because of changes in population and businesses under pressure because of shoplifting. It wasn’t connected to any specific incident.”
“What’s notable to me now is the number of people who were walking around in an intimidatory fashion seven to eight months ago has dropped, they know about the cameras. It’s changing their mindset.”
Footage captured by ETI Security through the CCTV is not live-monitored and can only be accessed by An Garda Síochána using a valid Pulse ID as part of an active investigation, he said.
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The town secured a “value for money” deal with ETI and hopes to extend coverage across the town, said Mr Egan. While the cameras have helped gardaí make their work more “streamlined” and provides “clear, accessible video evidence”, CCTV is not the answer to crime in the area, he added.
“I feel sorry for gardaí, they’re under pressure, but they need to engage in a more meaningful way with the public.”
A spokesman for An Garda Síochána spokesman said the Mayo/ Roscommon/ Longford division had not decreased compared to 10 years ago and that the allocation of resources took a number of factors into consideration, including population, crime trends and operational strategies.
There are two sergeants and three gardaí based in the Ballaghaderreen Garda station who are “supported by wider resources in the Roscommon Community Engagement Area,” he said.
“The ‘opening hours’ of Garda stations is not equivalent to the availability of gardaí patrolling in the community,” said the spokesman. “Every hour that a Garda is required to remain inside a Garda station to keep it open, is an hour that that Garda cannot be on patrol in their local community.”
“An Garda Síochána at all ranks are committed and dedicated to maintaining safe communities.”
