Call for CCTV in Dublin playground to deter arson attacks and vandalism
As Dublin’s newest playgrounds fall victim to arson attacks and rampant vandalism, calls are mounting for CCTV monitoring to deter those targeting the city's play facilities.
At the latest South Central Area Committee meeting, Councillor Vincent Jackson put forward a motion calling for CCTV and a mobile warden service to address the scourge of vandalism across Dublin parks. He cited the Liffey Valley Playground in Chapelizod as an example, but this is just one of many places that has been targeted by unknown vandals.
The council’s response stated that CCTV can be difficult to get approved and “extremely expensive,” with the bar for GDPR being much higher as there are minors involved. However, Cllr Jackson stated his belief that GDPR regulations have become “the greatest excuse in the world not to do anything.”
“If you buy a good car, you put an alarm on it,” Cllr Jackson argued, suggesting that costly council-funded playgrounds deserve the same level of security. “When we spend a fortune on play facilities we should build into it the opportunity to ensure that expenditure is going to be there in six months or a year's time."
While the presence of security cameras at playgrounds may act as a deterrent to would-be vandals, Raymond Conway from Parks & Landscape Services explained that between extra staffing costs to monitor the footage and the difficulty of identifying people at night, the council would essentially be paying for a deterrent that cannot guarantee identification.
“A lot of this anti-social behaviour happens at night-time so you need adequate lighting to illuminate what you’re looking at, and then if they are doing things with a hood up, you can’t make out who it is, so really you would only be paying for the deterrent aspect of CCTV cameras,” he said
This deterrent aspect could work in the council’s favour, as Cllr Jackson revealed that as the chair of a local school that didn’t have the money for CCTV they simply put in non-operational cameras that appeared to function. “We had a 95% reduction of the crime happening in the schoolyard and the vicinity," he said.
While “in an ideal world,” security measures like CCTV wouldn’t be needed at Dublin playgrounds, Cllr Jackson said instances in recent times highlight “we don’t live in that world.” He said that taxpayers pay a substantial sum for the provision of local infrastructure like playgrounds and it’s important to find ways to protect it.
“This is not only working class areas, it’s affluent areas as well, there are no barriers when it comes to anti-social behaviour. I know you have to be discreet when children are involved, but it’s the people spraying graffiti, doing drugs, damaging equipment who are the only ones who have anything to worry about.”
Cllr Jackson stressed that it's incredibly frustrating when newly opened playgrounds are damaged so quickly. However, he hoped that as “we go into the brighter evenings” in the coming months “the passive security” of people using parks later into evening can also act as a deterrent.
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