Council should give town CCTV footage to Gardaí

A TUAM councillor is calling on Galway County Council to hand over their CCTV footage to An Garda Síochána.

Speaking during last week’s meeting of the Tuam MD, Cllr Shaun Cunniffe believes the feeds of the cameras, which are based out of Tuam Town Hall, would be a vital resource for the Gardai and make their jobs easier.

“I’ve met with a senior member of the Gardaí in North Galway, and he told me that there is no serious crime in Tuam, but CCTV cameras were still needed to keep track of issues in certain areas,” he explained.

“We need to step up and get this sorted. They should already have access in their stations to the camera feeds we have in Tuam Town Hall, as they would be a vital tool in their armoury to fight crime.”

Addressing his concerns, Directors of Services for the Tuam MD Michael Owens explained they could not make any plans to hand over the camera feeds until the Gardaí had completed their new CCTV Code of Practice.

The code is currently in development, having gone through a period of public consultation earlier this year. Once finalised by the Garda Commissioner, Mr Owens confirmed the council will once again visit the issue and see if the handover is possible.