By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
The West-Windsor Plainsboro Regional School District plans to install surveillance cameras at all its schools.
The security measure is designed to give schools better control over their outside environments, said Thomas Smith, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
The live footage will be Web-based, so it can be accessed remotely, he said, and by police if necessary “in the event of a true emergency.” The footage will be kept for three months at a time, and any incidents will be recorded to DVD, he said.
The cameras were first installed at the High School South as a pilot program. The cameras currently monitor parking lots, playing fields and entrances to the school.
The Millstone River Elementary School also has an access control system, where cameras are placed at doorways and visitors are seen before they are admitted to the building.
Based on the success of the systems at these schools, the district decided to go ahead with the program.
The first step will be the installation of these cameras at every building in the district, Mr. Smith said, adding that the system will be installed over a period of several years.
The cameras have helped the school monitor student vandalism at High School South, according to Mr. Smith.
”We did foil one senior prank as a result of having the cameras,” Mr. Smith said.
Though the school board has approved the use of cameras inside the school, that would be years in the future, he said.
The district has applied for funding to help with the cost of the cameras, he said.

