Page 24 - Campus Security & Life Safety, June 2018

VIDEO SURVEILLANCE
dent Government Association, the Presi- dent’s office, the Office of Information Tech- nology (IT), plant operations and the police department, the committee was tasked with determining the best method for adding additional cameras and ensuring proper monitoring and upkeep.
“We looked at some different things,” Bon- ath said. “Buildings were blocked by tree can- opies, and lower levels didn’t get us a far- enough view.”
Bonath said he looked at another universi- ty in the state that had a camera on top of an emergency phone located in a parking lot near the football field, and that got him think- ing. Texas Tech has several emergency phones located across campus indicated by a bright blue light on top of the phone’s structure, and the idea became adding cameras on top of these “blue phones.”
“They have, for the most part, the power and all the necessary features we need,” Bon- ath said. “So we can use the power conduits already there. Then we realized they are about two feet above the structure, and that gives us a good purview under the tree canopies in the spring and summer when the trees are all leaved out. It gives us a good perspective, and there are enough of them at the right height that you aren’t seeing people like ants but you can get some recognition.”
At that point, Bonath said, officials high- lighted the areas around campus where cam- eras were most needed and could give a good view of areas on campus where there is high student foot traffic, bus traffic and where cars most often enter campus.
From there, the plan was developed to begin with four new security cameras placed on random blue phones across campus, with the hopes of adding a total of 20 cameras as the budget allows. The cameras will be hard- wired back to a monitoring station where footage will be recorded and archived for 180 days.
“They’re basically 360-degree, 365-days- per-year, 24-7 cameras where we can get a good perspective of what is going on,” Bonath said. “Once we get all the ones we want up, there should be very limited empty spots on campus that aren’t able to be covered by at least one of these cameras.”
MONITORING AND MAINTENANCE
Bonath is keenly aware of the perception hav- ing security cameras across campus can have with those being monitored, but he wants to assure those on campus that Big Brother is not monitoring them around the clock.
That’s why the task of monitoring the cam-
eras will fall on the operations department and not the police department. Operations will be responsible for the day-to-day control of the cameras, ensuring they are operational and focused on the correct section of campus property. If there is an issue with transmission of footage over the hardwired lines, IT will be called in to fix the problem.
If there is an event or safety concern the police need to track, they will then take over monitoring and operation of the cameras. Texas Tech police will be the only depart- ment allowed to go and pull archived footage in order to determine if a crime was caught on camera.
“We’re trying to be sensitive to the overall privacy of the students and faculty but also provide the most secure environment,” Bon- ath said. “It’s a balancing act between public order and privacy.”
Both Bonath and Phillips are confident the addition of the cameras will greatly enhance security and safety on campus, but both acknowledge they are only part of the bigger picture of campus safety.
“That’s an ongoing process, and you never stop evolving and trying to perfect things with changes in technology, changes in auto- mation, all those things that are out there that
can be used in some form for public safety,” Bonath said.
ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES
Security cameras aren’t the only additions or enhancements Texas Tech has made in cam- pus security.
Phillips said Texas Tech also has increased the number of license-plate readers around campus. Several locations are equipped with license-plate readers to help monitor traffic on campus. Those readers can help police if they need to locate a certain vehicle and see at what point it entered campus.
Building access and security is also being evaluated. Phillips said cameras are being added when new buildings are constructed, and entry through controlled access security is being utilized.
Texas Tech also is updating building alarm systems for fire and weather-related emergen- cies, with the capability to use a public address system to notify building inhabitants of the need to exit the building in case of a fire or move to secure location within the building in case of severe weather.
This is in addition to the TechAlert system where students, faculty and staff are notified by phone and email of emergency situations
24 WWW.CAMPUSLIFESECURITY.COM | JUNE 2018
CAMPUS SECURITY & LIFE SAFETY