KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Kalamazoo Public Schools will be beefing up security at events on their school campuses with a pair of portable outdoor surveillance towers.
They are the same kind of units used by local retailers in parking lots and by the Kalamazoo’s Department of Public Safety in crime hotspots to keep an eye on things and to act as a deterrent to bad behavior.
The trailer units have four cameras, a router, a recorder, flood lighting and a generator to power the tower.
School security chief Don Webster says they are also connected to local law enforcement’s Fusus system.
“They can have access to the cameras, but only local law enforcement agencies and that’s only if we give permission for that.”
Webster was asked by trustee Karla Murphy about the kind of surveillance it would be doing and was assured that its nothing beyond what they are doing already, and the same privacy policies the district has in place now would apply.
“This surveillance tower is not equipped with face recognition or license recognition so it doesn’t store just the license plates. It is video equipment that videos the whole area.”
The school board approved the $123,000 purchase at their last meeting.
Comments