GARDAÍ AT WATERFORD station are the latest to get body-worn cameras.

It’s the third location to trial the new technology after it was rolled out in Dublin and Limerick over the summer.

The small lightweight cameras will be visibly worn by gardaí from stations participating in the pilot phase.

Each location has bodycams manufactured by a different company, to trial different models.

The success of the pilot will inform how bodycams are introduced nationwide.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee welcomed the development, claiming they’ve already made an impact.

“Gardaí equipped with the cameras have been able to capture footage of searches of dwellings which uncovered drugs and assist in the de-escalation of tensions during protests and incidents of disruption,” she said.

The cameras are also aimed at making the job of gardaí safer.

“I have been vocal in my commitment to providing An Garda Síochána with the support needed to ensure gardaí are safe as they go about their daily work,” said McEntee.

Each bodycam can record footage to its own internal encrypted storage, which will be uploaded when the garda docks the camera in a garda station. The footage is uploaded at the end of a shift so it can be used as evidence at court or is deleted after an agreed time if it is not required as evidence.

The cameras themselves will not have facial recognition software but it can be applied later through a specific computer program.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) was “strongly opposed” to the technology being used by law enforcement, and said that An Garda Síochána has a “poor record on data protection”.

The ICCL previously called for a ban on the police use of facial-recognition technology, arguing that it poses an “extreme risk to rights.”

There was opposition from some academics who believe it is open to abuse by police.