Police can keep an eye on schools via the Web
Ninety cameras are now installed at NBTHS, Linwood Middle
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

North Brunswick

NORTH BRUNSWICK - The police are sending out an SOS to the school community.

Ninety new security cameras have been installed at North Brunswick Township High School and Linwood Middle School as of earlier this year through the federal Secure Our Schools (SOS) funding program, which seeks to enhance security measures at local schools.

Through the Stage I grant, $110,000 was awarded through a grant application filed by Police Director Kenneth McCormick and Judith Delanoy, the administrative secretary to the Department of Public Safety, with a match by the Board of Education. The police department was responsible for purchasing the Panasonic cameras while the school district handled labor, materials and installation.

"We're always aware of incidents nationwide, with Columbine and other incidents, so anything we can do to increase school security, if we see something to make it better we will do that," McCormick said.

The cameras are IP (Internet provider) addressable and can be accessed through the Internet in real time. The police dispatch center, station commander and road supervisors will be equipped with the log-in information, as well as the superintendent and the principals and vice principals at the high school and Linwood.

"Our intent is not to monitor them 24/7 here at police headquarters, because we don't have the personnel," McCormick said, adding that the police officers have the ability to tap into the system during a critical incident or review recorded tapes for daily activities. "The idea is to go there when you need to, and also to go back to an incident when it occurred and see what happened."

In the case of an incident, a responding sergeant can enter the school and communicate with the dispatcher or station commander through a hand-held radio and alert them to the location of an incident or perpetrator. Up to 16 different cameras can be viewed from the Web site at one time, with a simple mouse click changing the angles of the school. Around 16 people can log in at once, although a heavy concentration of personnel can lead to Web traffic slowing the transmission of images.

"The really great thing is this will reduce the amount of time for planning and responding and will give a great deal of information about what is going on in the school," McCormick said.

Using Disk Recorder Management Software, the information can be recorded onto a server and burned onto a CD or DVD for information transmission, such as for a court case.

"We're not only focusing in on a critical incident with this, we're talking about school violence, school vandalism, those types of things at school, bullying. … These cameras are the eyes and ears for us so if we need to charge an individual with a crime … we now have access to this information and can produce it very easily."

The system had its first real test during the lockdown situation at the high school on April 18. Police were able to view the monitors and go through the school section by section, making sure every area was searched.

"If something had developed [in terms of a gunman], we would've had access to it," McCormick said.

It has also assisted with simpler incidents, such as minor disturbances, according to Brian Zychowski, the superintendent of schools.

"We look at security as a priority. We want to use technology to enhance the security plan of the district. Providing added measures to ensure all students are receiving an education in a secure and safe environment gives us another feature to go about our daily work while monitoring our schools," he said.

Cameras have been located at the high school since it was first built, according to McCormick, but the system had become antiquated. He said the cameras now are clearer, in color and are cheaper. The system builds off technology acquired about three years ago, as the mobile data terminals and broadband connections have already been servicing the police department.

The enhancement project began in 2005 and a committee was formed between the school principals, resource officers and Police Capt. Michael Misurell, who oversees Homeland Security issues. The team evaluated school maps and discussed strategic locations to place the cameras, according to McCormick, prioritizing the locations due to the limited number of cameras.

However, through a Stage II grant, which will run through August 2008, an additional 60 to 70 cameras will be provided through $91,000 in funding, enabling an increased number of locations to be monitored.

Also, in the next few weeks, according to network administrator Troy Gorski, police car laptops should be equipped with access to the Web site. A private network must be created to disallow Internet access while establishing firewalls so that outside networks cannot hack into the system. In addition, the plan is to have digital maps of the schools in each squad car; currently all supervisors are equipped with physical maps.

In the future, the four township elementary schools could be outfitted with security cameras if funding exists, McCormick said, although most day-to-day incidents occur in the older grades.