Police in West Aurora to Use School Surveillance Cameras in Training
The West Aurora School District will soon be fully monitored by security cameras and become the first district to work with the Aurora Police Department to improve school safety using video surveillance.
According to an article from The Beacon News, the West Aurora School Board approved the $137,000 purchase and installation of security cameras at all 10 elementary schools, as well as the Hope D. Wall School and Todd Early Childhood Center in Aurora, Ill. About four years ago, the West Aurora High School had cameras installed, and the district’s four middle schools got cameras last year.
The video feed can be viewed by authorized district personnel, as well as Alarm Detection Systems and the Aurora Police Department. District administrators say the new cameras can give first responders valuable information about the situation inside or outside the school before they arrive.
While the plans for this surveillance expansion have been in place for several years, officials say, the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School last December brought school safety to the surface for many districts and made funding security measures a priority.
In late July and early August this year, the Aurora Police Department will be training officers and conducting rapid-response drills at West Aurora High School – this is the first time the department has incorporated school security cameras into such drills, the article reports.
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