By Zachary Levine SYRACUSE, N.Y. (CitrusTV) – Towards the end of last semester, DPS worked to install security cameras along the promenade. There are now 15 cameras hanging on light poles along the walkway.
The cameras are used not only to monitor crime, but also people movement and general crowd size on the important campus artery.
DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado says the cameras are there to observe campus, not look for bad things.
“Cameras could be there just for general safety concerns, if we want to see any sort of numbers of the amount of people are on campus at any particular time,” he said. “If there’s an assembly of students, if there’s a parade of some sort, just being able to monitor those things, but not so much that we’re expecting crime.”
Maldonado believes the promenade is not a place on campus where any major crimes would happen.
The cameras are concealed in grey casing that matches the color of the light posts to avoid vandalism. While the cameras are recording, they are not being monitored at all times.
Maldonado says students are still skeptical.
“Generally, people are always concerned about cameras and privacy infringement,” he said. “I think that that’s kind of a natural trend that you’ll see nationwide and not only here at Syracuse University but in the city of Syracuse.”
Each of the 15 cameras along the walkway provide three different views, meaning DPS has 45 different angles they can monitor.
Maldonado says watching the video feeds are not their first priority.
“We certainly don’t have the luxury of the time to monitor those cameras. If students think that we’re monitoring cameras on the promenade on a daily basis, that’s certainly not the case.
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