Students unaware of cameras installed on campus

Despite efforts by the Boston University Police Department to inform the student body, students are ultimately unaware of safety initiatives on campus, including the installation of security cameras along Commonwealth Avenue, Bay State Road and South Campus.

Deputy Director of Public Safety Scott Paré said BUPD installed the cameras during the summer, but many people did not know this occurred.

“It enhances our response to different situations because we can monitor right here from our dispatch center, so when we have a call, we can actually look at that area and see what our officers are responding to and advise them [of] what they actually have [happening],” he said.

The cameras on Bay State Road and in South Campus are the first in the area, Paré said.

As a result of several armed robberies that occurred in Brookline in 2012, BU President Robert Brown wanted to make camera security more of a priority, Paré said.

“We wanted to expand our camera along and up and down Comm. Ave. slowly, but after those robberies in Brookline, we decided to do this,” he said. “They [the robberies] were actually solved by cameras. It was a private company’s cameras that had them faced in that direction that we were able to capture very good images of the perpetrators.”

SG President Richa Kaul mentioned how BUPD installed hidden cameras on Bay State Road at a Monday Student Government meeting, The Daily Free Press reported.

“There are now cameras on Bay State [Road] that are hidden in the trees to help sort of spot any issues that are going on there,” said Kaul, a dual-degree junior in the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Management. “They have put in a lot of measures, whether we can see them or not.”

The cameras were not installed for covert reasons and doing so would have defeated the purpose of getting an adequate view of the street because foliage blocks some of the view, Paré said.

“They’re not hidden,” he said. “The problem [is] a lot of Bay State Road is the trees, and when all the foliage comes out, it blocks some of the view. It’s not one of those Big Brother watching [situations]. It’s not like we’re watching our students. It’s for their safety.”

Several students said they were not aware these cameras were installed and in use around campus.

Natalie Zhang, a freshman in Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said the additional cameras are not a problem if they are a good addition to BU security, even if BUPD did not tell anyone.

“If it increases security, then I don’t see a problem,” she said. “I understand that people might argue that [it is an invasion of privacy], but I feel like you can’t really expect to be private out on the streets.”

Michael Webster, a graduate student in the College of Engineering, said he has noticed that crime on campus has decreased in the past few years.

“I don’t know if that’s because of the increased patrols or surveillance necessarily, but it does seem to be a lot quieter,” he said. “I’ve always felt pretty safe being on BU’s campus. I’ve never had any indication that says it’s an unsafe environment.”

Ege Derman, a College of General Studies freshman, said although she is not entirely confident in the effectiveness of the cameras, she does feel safe on campus.

“It could be helpful, but I don’t think it will decrease any crime,” she said. “If a person is going to do something, I don’t think the cameras are going to stop them.”

Paré said the cameras serve as tools to help BUPD better serve the community.

“It’s a very nice feature to have. They’re just another tool that the police can use to monitor activity that’s going and forensically look to see what happened there,” he said. “I’m hopeful we don’t have to use them at all.”