Police access to public security cameras: How much is too much?

By: Roland Beres

NAMPA, Idaho — Traffic cameras. School cameras. Security cameras. These days, cameras are just about everywhere, and authorities say their access to that video can save lives and solve crimes faster. But critics warn that those same tools create privacy concerns.

Idaho News 6 Senior Reporter Roland Beres recently toured the Nampa Police Department’s Real-Time Crime Center to get a first-hand look at a modern surveillance hub.

More than a hundred public cameras are watching parts of Nampa every day. Most people drive past them without ever giving them a second thought.

Inside Nampa Police Department headquarters, those cameras help officers solve crimes, respond to emergencies and, in some cases— like school shootings— save lives.

“It’s a game changer,” stated Sgt. Brandon Moerles with Nampa PD. “A lot of people can die in a few seconds.”

For instance, in a school shooter scenario, Moerles says real-time information can make all the difference: “Real-time info in an active shooter situation is priceless. It allows us to get officers to where they need to be in seconds rather than minutes.”

One way police can get that information is through security cameras. In Nampa, officers can access traffic cameras every day. And in certain emergencies, they can also gain access to cameras inside local schools.

Of course, security cameras are nothing new to schools in the U.S. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 93% of K-12 schools in the U.S. have security cameras. The center says there are no figures on how many allow police access, but they say the number is on the rise.

While Nampa schools have featured security cameras for decades, giving police camera access was an advantage the Superintendent told me they couldn’t pass up.

“There’s cameras everywhere,” said Nampa Schools Superintendent Gregg Russell. ”To us, it was an easy decision to allow them to have access in an emergency. It’s the world we live in.”

But while police and school leaders see a public safety benefit, privacy advocates warn that access to surveillance cameras, especially in schools, must come with clear limits.

Don’t give them automatic access to it," advised Chad Marlow, senior policy council for the national ACLU, "Create a situation where the school has to press a button or enter a code that allows the police to come in and use the system.”

Marlow added that his concern isn't necessarily how the technology is being used today. It's how rapidly surveillance technology is evolving.

He told Idaho News 6 that artificial intelligence could eventually allow police to monitor schools electronically around the clock, automatically searching for suspicious or illegal activity.

“That is something we see in places like East Germany and Iran or North Korea rather than the USA,” explained Marlow.

Nampa School District said that police do not have unrestricted access to school cameras and may only view them during emergency situations.

“I understand those concerns; it’s one of the very questions we had as well,” commented Russell. “There’s laws against that. Laws around student privacy and when you can’t access information.”

As technology gives law enforcement access to more live video than ever before, both sides agree on one thing: The rules governing who can watch—and under what circumstances—matter just as much as the cameras themselves.