A former Garda Assistant Commissioner believes they are necessary for Garda protection.
Image via Garda.ieA former Garda Assistant Commissioner says having body-cams on Gardaí will help protect officers and communities.
The technology is expected to be rolled out to front-line members of the force over the coming months.
Pat Leahy says he's absolutely in favour of progressing the legislation to introduce body-cams.
He believes putting body-cams on Gardaí is a better option than arming them with tasers:
"It's better than the argument to start arming An Garda Síochána with tasers, so I do think the body cams offer another solution."
Mr. Leahy says Gardaí need to be protected in some way and thinks body-cams are the way forward:
"It's not a policy, it's just another tool in the box, and when we see what has happened around Ireland in recent times, the Gardaí certainly need to be protected in some way."
However the plan has sparked privacy concerns.
Executive Director of The Irish Council for Civil Liberties Liam Herricks said that body-cams are not proven to be beneficial to Gardaí.
“We have looked at the evidence from around the world and we are not convinced that it is going to either protect Gardaí or the public, but we’re open for a discussion on this.”
