The University may have more security cameras in hopes of keeping on-campus residents and students safer.Student Government is sifting through funding and logistical issues to add security cameras outside residential halls in an effort to raise the overall level of safety on campus, said Jordan Milazzo, SG director of campus development.Milazzo said the new cameras would be placed in prime locations near residential halls and on-campus apartments to help prevent theft and similar crimes.Milazzo and SG President Stuart Watkins have met with LSU Police Department and Residential Life about the cameras — which is an initiative on Watkins’ push card.SG is exploring how to raise $50,000 to help fund the cameras.SG Vice President Martina Scheuermann presented the issue to the Student Technology Fee Committee on Friday but said the money will have to come from somewhere else.Scheuermann said the tech fee funds technology that enhances learning, not security.SG was not able to raise funding from the Tech Fee Committee, but Watkins said he is confident the funds can be found through other means.Milazzo said it’s unclear how many cameras $50,000 can purchase because the costs of the cameras fluctuate depending on location.”You have to look at if the camera is here, then will it need a new power source installed for it, and will there need to be another pole put in the ground,” Milazzo said. “It varies a huge range because it can go from a few hundred bucks up to $10,000 in a few cases.”Milazzo said ResLife pledged to match whatever SG raised and agreed to cover recurring costs with security cameras during the years as they need repairing.”Whenever I come to campus I always park on the north side,” said Samer Hussein, electrical engineering senior. “There should be more cameras or at least more lights to improve the security of that area.”Watkins also has an initiative to increase campus lighting on his push card but said it was not possible because of funding constraints and the issue is already built into the         University’s master plan.
Milazzo said once the Residential Hall Association decides where it would like to see the cameras, LSUPD, SG and ResLife will meet to decide where and how to implement the new security measures.There are currently 110 security cameras spread across campus, said Sgt. Blake Tabor of LSUPD.Tabor said these cameras are monitored daily by the Information Technology division of LSUPD.”We don’t see every second of footage everyday,” Tabor said. “But we also have a database and archive of videos in the case that something happens near a camera that footage is readily available to us.”Tabor said he wasn’t sure where the cameras are most focused, but he said the cameras are “strategically placed around campus.”Tabor said in addition to having the capability to monitor certain moments on campus, the cameras also serve as a deterrent for potential criminals.”Obviously, with technology being what it is today, criminals are looking for the cameras,” Tabor said. “In no cases that I have seen has a criminal tried to disable or damage a camera. So every indication is they avoid the cameras and try to commit a crime in a different location.”Sociology freshman James Johnston said he sometimes feels over-protected living at Beauregard Hall in the Pentagon.”I can see how the cameras could be beneficial,” Johnston said. “But I feel like if it’s a lot money, they should just spend it on improving some of the dorms.”- – – -Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at [email protected]