THE FIRETIDE BLOG

How College Campuses Benefit from Video Surveillance

Mar 02, 2016

Campus Security.jpgColleges and universities are often sprawling, dynamic environments that bring people together from all over the world and regularly host unique festivals and events. Some of these institutions might occupy most of a town, while others might take up a modest-sized city block. Either way, there are a number of threats that law enforcement and campus security need to constantly be on the lookout for. 

Let's review some of the biggest campus hazards, and how reliable video surveillance can aid security staff's attempts to preempt – and respond to – them. 

Fires and medical emergencies

Campuses can be frenetic environments, with joggers, bikers and students rushing to class regularly, all of which can clog up traffic on walkways and near building vestibules. While university infrastructure is designed to help mitigate issues that could arise during high-traffic times, which includes eliminating fire hazards, authorities need a way to divert students away from a known emergency. This could be as harmless as someone falling on a patch of ice and getting a non-critical injury that may require paramedics. But it can also be as serious as a fire, flood or armed intruder in a campus building. 

With video surveillance, campus security can more easily provide emergency first responders with visual details of an event without actually having been on site when things started to unfold. Equally as important, they can use surveillance cameras to get visual updates about a situation, which can then be used to keep students and staff informed.  

Campus crime

Campus housing must be strictly monitored so that security teams have a full account of everyone who comes and goes from the building. This is done for the safety of students to ensure that anyone who is unaffiliated with the university cannot come and go freely. Video surveillance cameras installed at all building access points and near emergency exits can improve security monitoring, both by increasing security staff's ability to protect less well-guarded areas, and by keeping a visual record of everyone who enters and leaves the building.

Public campus spaces such as walkways, parks and university cafes must also be monitored. According to Security contributor Glenn Rosenberg, alcohol and drug abuse, gender discrimination and campus violence are some of the top threats to university security. Many campuses may be more integrated into a city than others, meaning that residents regularly walk along the same routes as students, introducing another layer of concern.  

Video surveillance addresses these problems in two very important ways.First, it can act as a crime deterrent, and secondly, it can provide information to security campus and law enforcement in an investigation. This is precisely why the University of California, Riverside decided to deploy a wireless surveillance system in late 2014. The campus had seen an unusual spike in violent crime rates, and sought to bring these numbers down for the sake of students' safety. In response, they installed 14 video surveillance cameras in key areas.  

Festivals, ceremonies and sporting events

Universities regularly host large festivals and sporting events that result in a spike in campus activity. Tailgating parties for college sporting exhibitions, seasonal festivals such as Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day, student move-in dates and graduation ceremonies can all result in a somewhat chaotic campus environment in which the likelihood of an emergency incident increases. 

In particular, sporting events between fierce rivals, home-coming games and events that might be unique to a certain campus may actually increase the risk of drug and alcohol abuse. There is a long list of annual college parties that involve music festivals, bonfires, moon bounces and more, and it's not unlikely that campus security spend weeks, or even months, preparing for them. 

Even with all hands on deck, campus security teams need to make sure that nothing goes unnoticed in the midst of the chaos, and that if it does, there will be a record of it that can be used later if needed. At times like this, a strong video surveillance system that covers critical areas of the campus is essential. 

At the end of the day, students are customers, and those who are paying for on-campus housing are also paying for security. Likewise, for professors and other university staff, the campus is a place of work, and one in which they should feel safe. Reliable video surveillance helps both to facilitate this sense of security, and actually enhance safety by giving security staff an extra set of eyes on the ground.  


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Category: Education

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