Western Kentucky University to Spend Almost $400K on Surveillance

Feb. 24--Western Kentucky University's campus will be a little safer this fall, thanks to a grant from the Kentucky Office of Justice Programs.

The WKU Police Department received $394,657 in grant funds to develop and install a closed circuit television system to enhance security on the main campus, said Capt. Mike Wallace. The project, which will be completed in phases as more funding becomes available, was the brainchild of many conversations between the police department and other campus departments, he said.

"We're trying to work with all different groups on campus, and this is something that came up in conversation," he said. "It's been discussed back and forth; everyone seems to be favorably inclined to develop this system."

Some smaller, independent surveillance systems are already on campus, he said -- in libraries, computer labs and at the Fine Arts Center -- but there were no university standards. The police department is working with Aegis Security Design of Louisville and campus network experts to design a system that would work for the entire campus without causing a problem with the university's existing network.

The first phase of the security enhancement project will target parking lots on campus as well as remote areas, such as the walkway behind Grise Hall, according to a release from the university. Phase I of the project should be complete by the end of September.

"Eventually we want to encompass all the parking lots here on campus and in south campus," Wallace said.

Right now, the department is looking at different factors that may affect camera placement -- construction, remodeling and foliage -- and will bid the project in about two weeks.

"If you want the maximum benefits of this, you have to stop and think about it," he said. "Western's not like a typical mall, where you're surrounded by a lot of asphalt. It's a park-like setting; it's a campus. It's not a matter of putting cameras up on top of buildings and having a perfect view."

The police department is also going to undergo some remodeling, Wallace said. The area that now serves as the parking office will be reconfigured to include monitors so communications personnel can watch what's going on.

The cameras will be monitored live, he said, but will also be recorded and saved.

Students needn't worry that their personal lives will be intruded upon, Wallace said. The cameras, which will be placed atop buildings and on poles, won't pick up anything that's not visible to the general public.

"They're being placed in public areas (that) anybody walking by would be able to see," Wallace said. "They're not in private areas, and they don't have the capability of listening in on conversations."

The primary function of the cameras is to keep an eye on the areas of campus that police officers can't patrol as often as they'd like, Wallace said.

"It's just another tool," he said. "We have vehicle patrols, we have foot patrols, we have bike patrols -- now we have video patrols."