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Surveillance equipment to be
installed in schools
Scott Holden
The
Central Record
Friday April 27, 2007
MEDFORD-Lenape district high schools are getting new video surveillance
equipment, thanks in part to funding received from the federal Secure
Our Schools grant.
The grant was applied for by the Evesham and Medford Township Police
Departments on behalf of the district and will fund half of the
costs incurred from the purchase and installation of the equipment
at Shawnee and Lenape High Schools in Medford and Cherokee High
School in Evesham.
Township manager Michael Achey said that the stipulations of the
Secure Our Schools grant - administered by the U.S. Justice Department's
Community Oriented Policing Services - requires a municipality to
formally apply for it through its police department.
"The way the grant is set up, we qualify to fill out the application
through our police department so we did it and everyone benefits
from it," he said. "It's a good faith thing for us to
do for the district," continued Achey.
The Lenape Regional High School District will cover the remaining
costs of the new equipment through its normal operational budget.
Seneca High School in Tabernacle will also be brought up to the
same level of coverage as the other high schools through the district
budget, school officials said. (Seneca is located in Tabernacle,
which does not have its own police department.)
"The safety of the students is vitally important to the school
district," Keith Patterson, the district's director of technology
said. "Medford and Evesham police departments approached the
district with this grant opportunity, we assisted them and, fortunately
for the children of the district, they were awarded the grant."
The new cameras are intended to supplement existing cameras on
the outside of the school buildings. The additional cameras will
provide better coverage and feature digital recording devices that
will enable district officials to record, store and view the images,
Patterson explained.
He said that the district has had only minor problems concerning
graffiti and property damage.
"We hope the cameras will act primarily as a deterrent,"
he explained.
Medford Township Council awarded the contract to low bidder North
American Video Inc. to install the equipment at a cost of $134,321.
The Ocean County company is a nationwide security systems integration
contractor that provides consultation, design installation, and
service of video surveillance technologies in both the private and
public sectors.
The Secure Our Schools grant program is intended to help state
law enforcement agencies and school districts establish and improve
school safety.
In addition to cameras, the grant provides funding for various
safety and security measures including lighting, locks, metal detectors,
and other forms of deterrents. The grants also give schools the
opportunity to cover the costs of security assessments and security
training for students and personnel. In New Jersey, more than $6
million has been awarded to 160 state schools through nearly 80
Secure our Schools grants since 2002.
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