The Department of Public Safety is planning on installing new cameras in parking lots and residence halls around campus by the end of the year. The objective is to have every residence hall equipped with an effective camera system, because currently some residence halls do not have any camera systems and many do not have the security coverage that Public Safety would prefer.
“We are working constantly to try to expand our use of technology to help make campus safer,” Craig Russell, director of Public Safety, said. “We don’t want to do so in a way that intrudes on people’s privacy, but we want to do so in a way that protects our students and protects our students’ belongings on campus.”
In order to protect student privacy, residence hall cameras will be placed in the lobbies and at building entrances and exists, but not in the hallways around rooms.
As a pilot project, Public Safety installed a single parking lot camera near the Swaid Center for Health Sciences building and according to Russell it was considered a significant success. Russell said the one camera deterred campus crime, therefore increasing the number of cameras around campus should lead to more of the same deterrence.
Another reason for the increase in cameras is that the cost of coverage has gone down substantially over the last few years. Traditionally security cameras have been expensive per unit and expensive to install. However, as security camera costs have fallen, Public Safety has seized the opportunity to broaden camera coverage around campus.
The overall goal of the camera expansion is to make students feel safer and prevent crimes such as theft from occurring.
Nonetheless, security cameras are only part of any effective Safety system. Russell said he encourages students to take the time to lock car doors and make sure rooms are closed.
“The most common crime on campus is theft and is almost entirely preventable,” Russell said. “Don’t leave your common sense at home.”
