University Police will install about 50 cameras on and around the campus starting next semester to improve security and target certain crime-prone areas, police said.
Police want to add camera coverage to numerous locations, such as near Lot 1D, where two female students were forced from their car in a mid-October daylight carjacking.
Officers are also trying to determine if it is feasible to add a camera near Tulane Drive, where shots were fired at students near the Graduate Hills and Graduate Gardens apartments during the summer, said Sgt. Steve Kowa, who works in the university’s Security Operations Center.
Police may install cameras near Lot 4 near Paint Branch Drive and along the path from Ellicott Hall to Stamp Student Union, adjacent to Shipley Field, Kowa said. Police also want to increase coverage by the Computer and Space Sciences Building near Cambridge Hall.
Three main sources of input help police determine where to install new cameras: analysis of crime locations, recommendations from the Student Government Association security walks and community members’ concerns about specific areas, said University Police spokeswoman Maj. Cathy Atwell.
Employees at the Security Operations Center were polled about crime locations outside security cameras’ current views and made recommendations for new cameras’ placement, Kowa said.
About 30 of the 50 cameras may be installed next semester, Atwell said. Installation is a fluid process that can change as police find more areas where cameras are needed, she said.
Each camera costs about $10,000 to install, including labor costs and other equipment. The total cost of the project will be about $500,000, which comes out of the Department of Public Safety’s budget, Kowa said.
The University Police website lists installed cameras, and the list will be updated as new ones are put in place, Kowa said.
