A HIDDEN camera found by loyalists behind Crumlin Road courthouse in north Belfast was there to protect a family under threat from loyalist paramilitaries, according to RUC sources.
The sources said the camera was installed in a wall at the back of the building as part of a surveillance operation to protect a family involved in a dispute with loyalist paramilitaries in the nearby Shankill estate.
The camera was removed by masked men on Tuesday. Residents said that the area had been quiet since the loyalist ceasefire and they would not allow the RUC to "spy" on them. They claimed another camera was also trained on their homes.
Mr John White of the Ulster Democratic Party called on the police to remove all monitoring equipment in the area.
"We are in a peace situation now and such surveillance is an erosion of people's privacy," he said. "We must get back to normal policing standards."
The UDP claimed that the camera was installed a fortnight ago.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein is to raise an alleged bugging incident with the Mitchell commission on disarmament. Cllr Francis Molloy claimed on Tuesday that a miniature listening device was discovered in a house in Dungannon, Co Tyrone.
The accused the British army of placing the equipment under the roof of a house at Glebe Park. The householder discovered it when investigating burst water pipes.
A transmitter and miniature microphone were connected to a telephone line.