Princeton Schools, Police Work On Security Camera Access

PRINCETON, NJ — The Princeton Public School District will reportedly enter into a Memorandum of Understanding to allow the police department access to the district’s security cameras. In July, Gov. Chris Christie signed into law bill S-742/A-1205, which requires boards of education to enter into agreement with law enforcement authorities regarding access to live video streams of public school buildings.

The bill states that if a building in the district has “video surveillance equipment that is capable of wirelessly streaming live video to a remote location, the board of education must enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with local law enforcement authorities giving the authorities the ability to activate the equipment and view live streaming videos.”

Under the bill, the MOUs designate who has access to the live streaming video, the circumstances under which the individuals would be authorized to access the video, and a plan for preventing and detecting unauthorized access. To read the full text of the bill, click here.

The details of Princeton’s MOU, which would take effect at the end of January, are still being worked out, the Princeton Packet reports. Scenarios in which the police department would have access to the livestream would be limited to lockdowns, a burglary alarm being tripped after hours and any other crisis determined by the superintendent or a school’s principal. The Board of Education must approve the agreement.

File photo