Government moves to acquire body-worn cameras for gardaí

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

A procurement process to acquire body-worn cameras for gardaí is to begin after being approved by the Government.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee secured Cabinet approval to progress the current Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 in the Oireachtas as a priority in the coming weeks.

The cameras being procured will have facial recognition software, pending this technology being legislated for in a separate Bill, also approved by Cabinet on Tuesday.

The use of facial recognition technology (FRT) will be included in the Garda Síochána (Digital Management and Facial Recognition Technology) Bill 2023, and will be drafted to use the technology only in serious crime investigations.

The Government has in recent months been deliberating over proposals to introduce both body-worn cameras for gardaí and FRT to assist with investigations.

Concerns were raised by the Green Party around the use of FRT but Minister Simon Harris said it was unacceptable that the only people at a protest who did not have recording equipment were gardaí.

Cabinet approved the measures on Tuesday, with Ms McEntee stating that she was “really pleased that we’ve reached an agreement and that we can progress in what is a really important area”.

“This will be retrospective facial technology used in the most severe of instances, so for the likes of child sexual abuse, child abduction cases, murder cases, serious sexual assault,” the minister said.

“And again, this is about making sure that gardai have the tools and the technology to access information that they already have. And it’s about speeding up the process, making sure at all times that we have relevant oversight, and of course, the individual’s rights are protected at all times.”

The minister said the technology is crucial to improving the safety of frontline gardaí as well as assisting in the investigation of serious crimes – and said there are safeguards included in draft laws on the use of FRT.

“Firstly, what we’ll ensure – and this has been set out in the heads of the Bill – that it will have to be approved prior by a Chief Superintendent, somebody who was not involved in the case.

“Separate, we will have a High Court judge that will be appointed to oversee and to look at all of its uses throughout the year and report directly back to the Taoiseach and government.

“But we’re also stating clearly that this will be done in line with the (European Data Protection Board) who have said very clearly ethical ways and practical ways in which facial recognition technology can be used.

“So these are obviously all of the data protection commissioners across Europe who have come together to set out these standards, so this would be drawn up exactly in line with those standards.”

Ms McEntee said Garda Commissioner Drew Harris is to begin tendering for the purchase of body-worn cameras and FRT.