CCTV plan being considered at Omagh cemetery after staff threats

FERMANAGH and Omagh District Council is considering installing CCTV at Omagh’s largest cemetery following disputes over memorials that do not meet council guidelines – and incidents of threatening behaviour towards its staff and their families.

It has also warned it will initiate legal action and arrange for the removal and safe storage of any non-compliant plinths or headstones, some of which have even been erected late in the evening or overnight.

Greenhill Cemetery on the Gortin Road is one of two graveyards where the extra measures could be introduced.

A meeting of the council’s environmental services committee was told that disputes over unauthorised surrounds and non-compliant headstones in recent years have at times led to ‘unreasonable, aggressive or threatening behaviour’.

Director of environment and place, John News, said: “Officers recognise that matters associated with cemeteries, graves and memorials are deeply emotive and sensitive for all families. In each instance, the council engages with the family concerned in a dignified, respectful and compassionate manner.

“However, we do not tolerate unreasonable, aggressive or threatening behaviour towards staff or contractors acting on its behalf.”

The council stressed that it will ‘engage’ with the PSNI in ’exceptional’ circumstances to reduce risks to staff.

Sinn Féin councillor Dermot Brown said all instances of threatening behaviour should be condemned.

“A lot of families were very upset that they had adhered to the rules regarding memorials and headstones, and then it seemed like there was one rule for them and another for others.

“This compounds the feeling of grief that they are experiencing with the loss of a loved one. That is why we have to get this right,” he said.