More indoor security cameras have been installed on campus this school year, expanding the high school’s surveillance system beyond the exterior cameras installed between 2018 and 2021.
During the 24-25 school year, PHS Principal David Yoshihara said six new cameras were installed inside buildings on the PHS and MHS campuses, and that the district planned to add more in high-traffic indoor areas.
“Do I think that more cameras in general will make the school a safer place? The answer is no,” science teacher Duncan Kight said.
TPH counted seven new cameras installed in various interior spaces.
These cameras are from the Verkada Dome Series, priced from approximately $900 to $3,000. The Verkada Dome-Series camera and software support AI facial recognition to generate logs of people’s faces and include a microphone to capture audio, though this functionality is not currently used on Piedmont campuses.
Many of the newly installed indoor cameras are positioned near bathroom entrances and other high-traffic areas, including all floors of the STEAM building, the hallways outside classrooms in the 30s building, and the student center.
“I think that’s maybe a little invasive,” freshman Asha Patel said. “But then again, we are on public property.”
Yoshihara said the new locations were chosen due to recurring concerns about vaping, phone use during school hours, bathroom vandalism, and line-cutting during brunch and lunch.
While cameras do not record inside bathrooms, they monitor the hallways outside bathroom entrances.
“I think vaping [should be caught on cameras],” Patel said. “I think line cutting and phone bans aren’t that important.”
According to Yoshihara, the indoor cameras are connected to sensors that trigger recording when students leave the bathroom. Triggers include: tampering with the sensors, vaping, or loud noises.
“No, I do not at all think that the cameras should be used to catch students vaping, on their phones, or line cutting,” Kight said.
Yoshihara said students can be held liable for conduct captured on camera during school hours. Often, a student is seen doing something and is reported by either staff or another student. Administrators will then examine the camera footage to follow up.
Yoshihara said that the priority is safety, followed by privacy. Camera footage is stored in the Verkada cloud system and deleted after 30 days unless needed for an active investigation.
The idea of using cameras to be able to help deal with hooligan behavior is a net positive thing,” Kight said.
PUSD Facilities Director Palmer said access to the footage is limited to a small group of administrators, including Yoshihara, Palmer, and Campus Supervisor Michael Bell.
