Wexford family attacked by ‘young thugs’ told it will take three weeks to attain CCTV footage of incident
Wexford PeopleA Co Wexford man subjected to “hooliganism and thuggery” has been told it will take three weeks to acquire CCTV footage of the latest attack on his property. Bringing the man’s case to the council chamber, New Ross cathaoirleach Councillor John Dwyer said there had been a “prolonged campaign” against a family in the area with their property and car repeatedly damaged by “young thugs”.
However, following the installation of new CCTV in New Ross it was hoped that the culprits could be swiftly brought to justice by the local guards. According to Cllr Dwyer, this is not the case.
“Within view of that man’s front door is one of the new CCTV units,” he said at the October meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC). “I received a distressed call from him over the weekend, he was at the point of breakdown after yet another attack.
"I contacted the guards on his behalf to ask if they could access the CCTV of the incident and was told it would take three weeks to get the footage, what good is that to us? I feel like I’m not being told the truth here.”
County secretary Michael Drea said there were processes in place for the guards to access CCTV footage but that it shouldn’t take three weeks to acquire it.
“WCC is the only local authority in the country with an online system that An Garda Siochána can log into to request CCTV footage from any of the community schemes operating around the county,” he said. “Any garda station in Wexford that wants access to CCTV footage makes an online request to us and once it’s approved, in a timely fashion, it’s provided to the guards. It’s a very efficient process.”
Meanwhile, the quest to capture illegal dumpers in the act may soon be complete after Mr Drea said mobile CCTV units were almost ready to be deployed.
Responding to a query from Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy, he said the council could prosecute fly-tipping or “any criminal offences” via CCTV and that the mobile units are “currently in the middle of public consultation and in the process of being actioned”.