Patrick Costello
Question:547. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice to provide an update on the status of the online portal for uploading cyclist and dash camera footage of road traffic offences. [54886/23]
View answerTuesday, 12 December 2023
Questions (547)
Written answers
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.
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.
As the Deputy may be aware the project to introduce BWC and DEMS to An Garda Síochána is underway, and is being undertaken on a phased basis. The first stage is a limited Proof of Concept (POC) deployment of BWC in a small number of areas which is planned to commence in the first half of 2024 and will be based on recently enacted legislation.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that this POC 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 BWC including the introduction of a DEMS.
The DEMS, in addition to supporting BWC, will 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.