Throughout the country teachers, students and faculty are preparing for another year of learning. Although last year the COVID-19 pandemic forced many schools into an online learning environment, this year most students and teachers are looking forward to getting back to the classroom.

While the return to campus brings about a feeling of hope and normalcy, it also may present a greater potential for crime. During the 2017–18 school year, 80 percent of public schools recorded one or more incidents of violence, theft, or other crimes that had taken place, amounting to 1.4 million incidents.

To address the safety concerns that come with increased traffic on school campuses, many school faculties and even entire districts are putting their trust in Flock Safety license plate reading cameras to engender school safety.

Read how the Lauderdale County School system is utilizing Flock cameras for school safety.

Maximize Limited School Safety Resources

It is simply impossible for school safety officers to see everything. They are often a one-man unit — they can’t work 24/7, and can’t be in multiple places at once. Flock Safety cameras help bridge this gap by acting as a “force multiplier” for law enforcement.

When placed in strategic locations like the entrance and exit of a school parking lot, Flock Safety cameras provide an extra set of eyes that capture and decode evidence just like a detective, but without any down time.

Identify Threats Before Crime Occurs

Flock Safety is an important part of the school safety protocol at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where Police Chief Dr. Jack Moorman says that they can help identify threats before they become issues.

According to Chief Moorman, “colleges and universities place a huge emphasis on threat assessment and work diligently to identify individuals who present a threat of violence to the campus community.” 

With Flock Safety’s Hot List alerts, any time a known suspect who might endanger school safety enters the campus’s vicinity, police will receive a real-time notification allowing them to warn the school and dispatch officers if necessary. 

“The ability to know when these individuals enter campus could be critical to violence prevention efforts,” said Chief Moorman.

Increase Parking Lot Security

According to the 2018 Sonoma State University Daily Crime Log, 50 percent of all school crime took place in the parking lot, but due to lack of helpful evidence, only 37.5 percent of cases were able to be solved.

Flock Safety LPR cameras work because 70% of all crime occurs with a vehicle. So whether it’s drug deals, hit-and-runs, vandalism, theft, kidnapping or other suspicious activity, Flock Safety’s Vehicle Fingerprint™ technology ensures that it is easy to quickly and objectively identify a suspect’s vehicle.

Flock’s vehicle search capabilities may be particularly helpful in cases affecting school safety, as young witnesses are even less likely than adults to record or document a vehicle license plate. But, even a young student may notice visuals like the type of vehicle the individual was driving, what color it was, or another unique characteristic — all of which can be queried in the Flock dashboard.

Identifying and apprehending a suspect early is crucial, said Chief Moorman, since “suspects often go from campus to campus to commit crime.”

Flock Safety Deters School Crime

Flock Safety cameras don’t just solve crime after it occurs; they help prevent it from happening in the first place. Because Flock Safety cameras are constantly working to capture evidence and alert law enforcement in real-time, there is less of an opportunity for crime to go unwitnessed, providing a major obstacle for suspects aiming to not get caught.

Maintain School Safety Without Compromising Privacy

Flock Safety cameras are ethically designed with individuals’ privacy in mind. Unlike traditional security cameras, Flock Safety cameras focus solely on a vehicle, rather than an individual, and only retain footage for 30 days. 

Flock provides educational resources on our privacy policies to help school administrators answer questions from faculty, staff, and parents. 

Don’t Wait To Invest In School Safety

Schedule your virtual demonstration today to learn how Flock Safety cameras are the easiest, safest and most affordable tool for preventing and solving crime on school campuses.