Cameras used since 2008 without permission.

Cameras used since 2008 without permission. | A. Bassa

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporter09/02/2016 00:00
TW
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Security cameras trained on the public way have been used in Son Servera since 2008 without permission having ever been obtained from the national government's delegation to the Balearics, which is a requirement before surveillance can be done in this fashion. On Son Servera (On SS), the independent opposition party at the town hall has condemned this and has called on the current administration to withdraw them immediately. It was the administration in 2008 which had been responsible for the cameras having been installed, and On SS is also demanding to know who specifically was responsible.

The town's mayor, Natalia Troya, recognises that there is no permission but says that she was, until very recently, unaware of the fact. Since On SS presented a complaint, she stresses that she has ordered the suspension of the use of the cameras and that the town hall has opened proceedings in order to regularise the situation. In addition, a camera located in Costa de los Pinos has been removed.

The spokesperson for On SS, Antoni Cánovas, has drawn attention to three cameras that were put up in the Parc Verd in 2008 when Josep Barrientos of PSOE was mayor and to four more that were installed in the Plaça Mallorca in Cala Millor in 2010 during the period when Antoni Servera (Independents) was in charge. "These are serious matters. Since 2008 until now recordings have supposedly been made by the local police that are contrary to the law and were without the authorisation from the government delegation that is obligatory. They have been made, therefore, totally illegally," says Cánovas.

The specific article under law dates from 1997 and regulated the use of security cameras by the security forces, i.e. police and Guardia, in public areas. It is a legal framework designed to give guarantees that the rights and freedoms of the public are respected.

On SS is firmly tracing all this back to 2008 and to the administration under Josep Barrientos which purchased cameras valued at more than 8,000 euros and put them up without permission on premises in the Parc Verd. Authorisation was apparently sought but was refused in May 2010. Antoni Servera, On SS insists, not only didn't order the removal of the cameras but presided over the four others being installed in Cala Millor. "We cannot tolerate illegal acts that are contrary to the freedom and privacy of citizens," concludes On SS.