APCOA To Trial New Badge Technology In Kildare

APCOA PARKING will become the first parking enforcement company in Ireland to equip its traffic wardens with new VideoBadge CCTV technology.

From 31 March 2014, APCOA’s Celbridge parking contract will trial the new high quality edesiX badge technology to help curb the number of verbal and physical assaults on its wardens.

With many incidents involving threats and assaults reported by APCOA’s wardens every year (up to 5 or 6 nationally per week), the introduction of the new VideoBadge technology has already received the support of the local authority and the Gardai, and will serve as an effective deterrent to those who believe they are above the law.

The VideoBadge is a robust water resistant body-worn system, which can record up to eight hours of encrypted audio visual data (16 hours on standby) while housed in an ID card holder. The footage is then stored in a sophisticated back-office system for added security.

In addition to being a visible deterrent, the new VideoBadge technology will also provide a transparent mechanism for investigating appeals and complaints.

Neil Cunningham, Director or APCOA Ireland, said: “We take assaults against our wardens very seriously, and we hope that the VideoBadge technology will act as an effective deterrent, as well as assisting the Gardaí with investigating serious incidents.

“The VideoBadge technology is not intrusive and will reduce investigating time. It is also compliant with data protection and privacy laws on storage of video data.”

About APCOA

With more than 40 years of operational and innovation experience, and an annual turnover of €700 million, APCOA Parking Group is the leading European parking manager.

The Group currently manages around 1.3 million parking spaces at more than 7,300 locations across 12 European countries. It is also a market leader in the aviation parking sector, with more than 30 European airports having already chosen APCOA to manage their parking facilities.