Police will have surveillance in Harford County middle schools this fall for the first time.
Aberdeen and Magnolia middle schools will get security cameras for the 2007-08 school year, and officials say they hope to find funds for Southampton Middle School as well.
Police, emergency responders and school administrators may view footage from the cameras.
All high schools will have functioning security cameras in time for the start of the school year, said Bob Benedetto, safety and security coordinator for schools.
The cameras feed into the Internet, which has a higher storage capacity than videotape, and officials may look at incidents anytime anywhere, Benedetto said.
Other school systems have even come to Harford to check out its modern, digital system.
“There?s unbelievable potential to have that ability,” said Maj. John Van Gilder, spokesman for Havre de Grace police, though he didn?t know of any major incidents in which cameras played a pivotal role.
“I definitely see this as a plus,” said Sgt. Christina Presberry, spokeswoman for the Sheriff?s Office. “Anything that aids us is a help.”
She knew of times when officers ? only a handful have the access code ? have looked at footage of a school day for investigations, but she wasn?t sure whether cameras were needed for after-school hours.
The high-tech system costs up to $130,000 for a large school, and Harford has been exploring cameras in schools since 2001, Benedetto said.
School officials, not police, determine where cameras are placed, however.
They often are in stairwells, places administrators cannot easily see and the main entrance of buildings that don?t have a central office nearby, schools spokesman Don Morrison said.
“They?re not hidden. They?re very obvious,” Benedetto said. “The kids are very aware of it.”
In one school where locker thefts had been a problem, none was reported for a year after cameras were introduced, Benedetto said.
“It allows us to be a little more proactive,” Morrison added.
