The Hopkins Security Department, along with security consultants iXP Corp., initiated the live operation of a system of 24 closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras around campus this Monday, according to Security Director Ronald Mullen.
With a total of 32 CCTV cameras slated to be operational within the next four to five weeks, the surveillance system is comprised of "smart cameras," which are designed with software that recognizes various suspicious behaviors and alerts a designated monitor.
"Hopkins is really the first university to use this behavior recognition system," said Larry Consalvos, a founder and vice-president of iXP Corp. "It's very state-of-the-art."
The cameras are concentrated along three areas: North Charles Street between the Homewood Apartments and the MSE Library, the AMRs, and Lovegrove Street, a highly trafficked alley that runs between Charles and Saint Paul streets.
The temporary operating center for the cameras is currently housed in the Hopkins Facilities Administration building on Remington Avenue, but may be moved onto campus by the end of the summer.
According to Consalvos, the cameras are designed to recognize a set of 16 behaviors that are given different priorities during six periods throughout the day, on a scale from 1-100. These behaviors may include an individual falling down, breaches of dormitory widows or individuals changing direction frequently along a path.
"The focus is on public safety -- it's not a "Big Brother' environment," Consalvos said. "It's the local domain knowledge of the security officers that tempers the technology."
Once a suspicious behavior has been identified by the camera, it alerts the monitor, an iXP subcontractor, who then may track the behavior via the system of cameras and alert the Hopkins security department.
According to Mullen, several suspicious behaviors have already been identified and tracked by the cameras since the first live operations on Monday.
In response to concerns that the cameras may violate students' privacy, Mullen and iXP consultants expressed assurances that the cameras would only be used to monitor threats to safety, not general acts of truancy.
"With respect to behavior that is dangerous, I would not put horseplay or someone walking down the street with a can of beer in that category," said Paula Burger, Dean of Undergraduate Education and Vice Provost.
According to Mike Anderson, an iXP consultant on site at the CCTV operating center, the surveillance system will protect the privacy of students with a "blue dot" feature designed to obscure any views into private residences with a dark patch on the screen.
Pointing to an image of an open window caught on a CCTV camera, Anderson said that, when the software interface is fully developed, the window would be obscured. He said that the "blue dot" system should be ready for implementation next week.
"It doesn't help us, so we don't want to see it," he said.
Burger agreed: "Peering into student rooms would be a violation of student privacy, and there is no intent to do this."
According to Consalvos, the cameras are capable of monitoring environments both day and night, can usually pan 360 degrees and achieve high levels of zooming. The cameras are also linked so that a monitor can track movements from one camera to another.
Consalvos showed a video feed from approximately 5 a.m. Wednesday of an individual seen possibly attempting to force open a door behind the Terrace Cafe.
"There's a possibility that we'd focus on a person if they've been previously monitored," he said. "It all depends on the security report that was written."
However, Mullen and Consalvos dismissed the possibility that the cameras could be used for profiling.
"The cameras are not smart enough to target individuals or groups, so profiling is not possible," Consalvos said.
Despite assurances from administrators, students from the Hopkins chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union met with Burger last week to discuss concerns about privacy violations and profiling.
"When you start putting cameras everywhere, there are a lot of privacy issues," said junior Blake Trettien, co-president of the JHU-ACLU. "We were also concerned that the camera monitors could be for racial profiling."
Junior Emilie Adams, vice-president of the JHU-ACLU, said that members were generally satisfied with Burger's assurances that private spaces would not be monitored. However, Adams expressed reservations regarding the University's guidelines for determining suspicious behavior.
"It was a little vague what was going to constitute a suspicious person," Adams said.
Trettien added, "I think it'd be a good idea for the school to keep track of how the camera monitors are using them, to see if profiling is taking place."
Burger also confirmed that signs would be designed and posted to inform passersby that they are under video surveillance.
According to Consalvos, the smart cameras were originally developed by the Department of Defense to monitor military compounds before being declassified and released for public use.
Mullen estimated that the current surveillance system will cost $300,000 to implement. The cost, according to Consalvos, is a result of the long life-cycle and minimal error that the cameras must have.
Security officials expressed high hopes for the future of the system.
"I expect the response times [to crimes] will improve because it will not depend on the victim or someone else alerting the security office," Mullen said.
Consalvos added, "We expect that very shortly there will be a significant amount of success stories, and that people will see crime reduction."
Bill Wallace, a monitor of the CCTV cameras and former member of the Secret Service, also praised the smart cameras. "It's an excellent system."
