In response to growing safety concerns, SMU Police Department is in the process of installing security cameras throughout campus.
Cameras have been installed at the entrances and exits of parking garages, Dedman 3 lot, and overlooking various public areas of campus such as the Meadows Museum sculpture.
Lt. Richard Salazar, who is in charge of the installation, assures that the cameras will be kept in public places on campus and in areas of reported high crime.
“They are all very visible, not hidden,” Lt. Salazar said, and are put up “as we see a specific need in certain areas.”
The cameras in the parking garages are fixed, which means that only one angle is captured. However, the monitors are able to zoom in on an object like a license plate number.
Lt. Salazar says this kind of information can prove who enters and exits the lot because the facts are just a mouse click away.
Other locations on campus are monitored by PTZ cameras, which offer a panoramic view of a certain area. These cameras are ideal for the department, but are about $1500 more than the standard fixed ones. Because Lt. Salazar installs the cameras, he is able to save the university money to spend on these more effective cameras.
The PTZs overlook large areas such as the Dedman 3 lot and Ford Stadium. These cameras allow the police to zoom in and automatically switch from day vision to black and white at night.
“It is a way to respond to crimes,” Lt. Salazar said, and a way to refer back to a certain time frame in question to get the facts.
In response to the issue of privacy, Lt. Salazar says that the cameras are here to help and protect the students and faculty.
“They are a good things as long as they are used for safety; nobody should feel intimidated by them ” Lt. Salazar said.
Lt. Salazar also reminds people that at places such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, or grocery stores multiple cameras are placed throughout the stores that people don’t seem to mind. He reiterates that this is a common safety precaution that should reassure the students of their protection.
Parents of SMU students have been behind the department and have given them positive feedback.
Lt. Salazar says that the cameras have already assisted the police in several crimes and seem to be yielding positive results.
As for any statistical results on how the cameras are working out, Capt. Mike Snellgrove says it is too soon to make a judgment. The department needs at least a year worth of statistics to show exact safety improvements and numbers.
Furthermore, Capt. Snellgrove points out that the instillation process is still underway and will be completed when funding allows.
“A camera is not an ends to a means,” Capt. Snellgrove said.
He believes that the cameras should be adequately monitored and students should be aware of what is going on around them.
Now there are dispatchers at the department, but Capt. Snellgrove and Lt. Salazar agree that more people will eventually be needed to watch the cameras.
“The university is very behind this,” Lt. Salazar said.
