New security cameras watching over LCHS

Student vehicles are being watched more carefully this year at Lake City High School.

The school plans to install security cameras in October or November in order to prevent vandalism to cars in the parking lots.

In past years, there has been about $15,000 in damages over the course of a school year. The cameras will cost $15,000 to $18,000. Many of the damages in the past have happened over weekends when students leave their cars in the parking lot. Other incidents occur when accidents happen in the parking lot, and no one knows who is to blame. Now some of those things will be cleared up with the use of the cameras.

Five cameras will be installed. Three of them have full 360- degree rotation capability. Those three will constantly be panning around the parking lot. The other two are stationary and will be mounted on the building.

The cameras are capable of reading a license plate number on Ramsey Road. One problem that has come up is how the parking lots will be watched at night after the lights are turned off.

Principal John Brumley said that this is a dilemma that is being discussed.

School resource office Greg Moore will be the person in charge of monitoring the cameras. He doesn't think it will be necessary to watch the tapes all the time, though, as damage is not done on a daily basis. Brumley said an incident of some kind happens about once a week. He will use the cameras only when an incident is reported.

The money needed to buy the cameras at Lake City was given to the school district by the Coeur d'Alene Police Department, which applied for a federal grant. Former school resource officers Christie Wood and Dan Dixon requested those funds.

Cameras will also be installed in Coeur d'Alene High School's parking lots as part of that school's renovation project. The school district has agreed to pay for those cameras, which are expected to be installed sometime during this school year.

Beyond the cost of the cameras, the school district will be responsible for installation costs as well as getting the wiring systems set up.

Brumley hopes that these cameras will help prevent students from skipping class as well as from smoking in the parking lot between classes. Brumley said that the main reason for getting these cameras was not to get rid of the smoking and skipping, because even with these cameras that would be too difficult to monitor. The main reason was to help prevent damage done to cars.

There are mixed feelings from the students about the new cameras. Some say they feel that it is a violation of their privacy, and that they don't like to feel like they are being watched all the time. Others, whose cars have been damaged, think cameras are a good idea so that now there will be some way of telling who vandalized their car.

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