License plate recognition (LPR) cameras are becoming more popular across university campuses. Leveraging such technology is allowing schools to monitor and regulate their parking lots more efficiently, and it’s necessary.
Most schools have parking lots because a significant body of students and faculty drive and need a place to park. They generate loads of revenue for campuses. They are frequently the source of a lot of grievances, and those in more isolated or remote locations ore among the places where more accidents and assaults happen than any other part of campus.
License plate recognition cameras are one more layer of security which campuses are bringing on board to manage the risks posed by such environments. The advent of more sophisticated video surveillance has made smart cameras – those which leverage analytics – more common. Thinking of introducing LPR cameras for better campus security? Here are three great reasons why all schools should have them.
1. Increased Safety
Campus security is an ongoing concern, and that extends to the parking lot. In 2016, teens made up 49 percent of all pedestrian deaths, and the vast majority of these happened in a school parking lot. The study by Safe Kids found that of all demographics, teenagers are more likely to be distracted with devices, not paying attention to their surroundings, or ignoring crosswalks and other safe street crossing practices.
Likewise, since 2016, AAA has found that just under 20 percent of all pedestrian fatalities also involve hit-and-runs. The driver who hit the pedestrian took off without reporting the incident.
License plate recognition cameras can be a tremendous resource for pedestrian injuries and deaths in school parking lots. Even if the driver flees, the technology can transmit license plate information to the police to aid in apprehending the suspect.
Furthermore, the license plate may be flagged in case the car returns. Automated license plate readers are typically able to scan license plates to check for warrants or stolen vehicles.
2. Make Sure Students and Staff Have Spaces
A common grievance on school campuses is often a lack of space – or the reservation of spaces in specific better or worse areas for students and staff. While this may lead to stressful encounters and both parties being late to class, parking troubles can quickly bubble over into broader conflicts in the school environment.
Additionally, a fairly frequent problem is teachers parking in student spots because there are not enough parking spaces dedicated to school staff and employees. The result is disgruntled students – who may, in turn, take other spots or park illegally.
License plate recognition cameras help cut down on these occurrences by making it easier for parking enforcement to identify and ticket incorrectly or illegally parked cars. Likewise, it can help identify repeat offenders or patterns in parking behavior, which require more systemic solutions. If it’s happening a lot, it’s something that the school may need to address.
3. Better Security All Around.
Lastly, license plate recognition can help identify cars that don’t belong on campus at all. Since students and staff need permits, and those permits are tied to license plate numbers, it creates a database against which LPR cameras can check a license plate when it parks in a lot.
On a large campus, it may be difficult to ID and sign in visitors manually. Likewise, there are many legitimate reasons for visitors to enter schools. An LPR camera can make a note of unregistered license plates – particularly if they park in a designated visitor space – and alert security personnel with a list of who is on campus. From there, additional security monitoring can assess the motives and threat status of the person.
Schools Need License Plate Recognition Cameras
License plate recognition cameras are the next step of video surveillance, which is evolving for the sake of school safety. Although the public opinion of surveillance is divided, security experts are not on the need and advantages of such measures.
With schools and universities being the target of so much violence in recent years, they need every advantage they can get. The ability of cameras to scan license plates, then automatically transmit that information to the proper authorities is a tremendous advantage. Parking lots are how a significant portion of people arrive, including threat actors. Their enhanced monitoring can increase security and save lives.
CDS specializes in security cameras for educational institutions and other types of campuses. There’s no system or institution too large or too small. Contact an expert in Springfield Illinois today to get started.
