Rollout of CCTV for Mullingar "in near future" - Gantly

The rollout of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in Mullingar will take place in the near future, Mullingar Garda Station"s Superintendent John Gantly told Westmeath County Council last week.'The structure is being put in at the present time,' Supt. Gantly told a meeting of the Council"s Housing, Social and Cultural Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) on Thursday night last.'We got an earlier date for the rollout, but the equipment has been purchased, and hopefully it will be up and running in the near future,' he said.Earlier this year, it was reported that by the end of June, Mullingar would become home to sixteen strategically located CCTV cameras, which would be monitored from Mullingar Garda Station in a bid to combat anti-social behaviour in the town.The June rollout date has been missed, but Supt. Gantly assured Council members that the implementation scheme was just around the corner.However, he said that CCTV was something that is public, and 'cannot be covertly used' to combat crime in the town.The context in which Supt. Gantly was speaking was a report to the Council on community policing in Westmeath, in which he explained that the 'local village bobby' is a thing of the past.'We"re developing An Garda Siochána"s national model of community policing, and part of this is the realignment of Garda district boundaries to meet county council boundaries,' he told the meeting.Supt. Gantly said that Gardaí in Westmeath had become involved with local community groups, sports clubs and schools, and had set up a Juvenile Diversion Scheme in Mullingar in a bid to put potential offenders on the right road. This was complemented by the Adult Cautioning Scheme, and the Garda Ethnic Liaison, which deals with 'problems' created by local demographics changes.He said that community policing is being implemented 'effectively' thanks to a working relationship with NGOs, local authorities, businesses, community groups and the media.Supt. Gantly who was joined at last week"s meeting by Mullingar"s Sgt. Tony Quinn, was congratulated by councillors for the Gardaí"s commitment to community policing in Westmeath.