Saboteurs' eyes on speed cameras here

A group of saboteurs blamed for vandalising up to 800 speed cameras in Britain has threatened to target Ireland when speed detection is privatised next year.

The use of a private company to install and operate around 60 cameras throughout Ireland is currently being considered by a working group established by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell in 2003. It is to report this month.

A spokesman for Motorists Against Detection (MAD), who contacted The Irish Times, warned that a number of Irish "operatives" were primed and ready to strike once the new system comes into use.

MAD emerged in 2000 and now has around 300 members all across Britain. It has been described as a terrorist organisation by British police. The group argues that Britain's 5,000 cameras are primarily used for making money, rather than for road safety. Its tactics include attacking cameras with angle-grinders, paint, incendiary devices and explosives.

"People making and planting bombs is terrorism and that's how we're treating it," said Richard Brunstrom, spokesman for Britain's Association of Chief Police Officers.

The MAD spokesman, who goes under the name of "Captain Gatso" and takes his name from the Gatso speed camera, dismissed the charge. He says that a MAD member from Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, was responsible for a number of attacks in the North, including using explosives to blow up a camera in 2003.

This man was also behind the recent vandalism of three camera boxes in Louth and Meath, he says.

The spokesman didn't respond to a request for details of how many people were involved, where they were based or what tactics they intended to use.

There are currently only three operational cameras in Ireland rotated between 20 boxes. "But, if the action isn't there, they're just going to spread like wildfire," he said. "People are going to grow to hate them over there as much as they hate them here."

A Garda spokesman said there was no information to suggest that any particular group was responsible for damaging cameras in the Republic. However, he said anyone found interfering with cameras faces prosecution through the courts. "Criminal damage of any property is a crime, and would be investigated as such," he said.

Protecting speed cameras would be the job of the private company operating them, but Gardai would give "every advice and assistance" in en- suring they were not attacked, the spokesman said.

Mr McDowell told the Dáil last year the working group would make recommendations on how to secure public support for the new scheme and prevent it being seen as "a revenue generation racket".

The Department of Transport said camera positions will be determined by Gardai rather than by the operating company, and they will be installed in known danger spots.

"The whole reason for doing this is safety," a Department spokeswoman said.

"It isn't to penalise motorists by making money out of them."

The AA's Conor Faughnan described MAD as "vile thugs - they are to motorists what soccer hooligans are to real football fans."

Nonetheless, the threat highlighted the importance of ensuring that cameras be positioned fairly and not be perceived as "bounty-hunters". Otherwise, Faughnan warned, there was a risk of resentment among motorists and support for MAD as a consequence.