With Kent State’s new safety grant, plans are being made to integrate more security cameras inside facilities and outside on several campuses.  

Funding for campus safety grants was approved for several colleges throughout the state, including Kent State, the Ohio House of Representatives announced in a press release. The university received $210,400.

“The money is being fairly split between Kent and five other of its regional campuses; Ashtabula, Geauga, Tuscarawas, East Liverpool and Salem,” said William Buckbee, the assistant chief of police and assistant director of public safety.   

Buckbee said the university was already looking to expand its surveillance system on campus in order to cover more of the esplanade and buildings on the front campus. Instances of vandalism have happened over the past years and cameras help solve these cases and can deter people who know they are on camera.

Jeff Futo, the CIT coordinator for Campus Police, helped coordinate this project and will assist with the installation of the cameras. 

“The university will utilize the cameras to observe key areas around our campuses to assist with public safety efforts,” Futo said. “The cameras purchased from the grant will be placed in areas that were targeted due to their potential vulnerability or high activity levels.”

The installation and use of security cameras is a coordinated effort with the Office of the University Architect, the Division of Information Technology, regional campus administrations and the Department of Public Safety.

Futo said the addition of these security cameras will benefit the university because they allow investigation of crimes and suspicious activity more effectively.

“They give us the ability, in the moment, to observe what is happening from an advantageous perspective,” he added.

These cameras are used by the Kent State University Police Department and can be accessed by other authorized university personnel. Security departments on the regional campuses use them daily to monitor activity around the campuses.  

“The university uses them in many other different ways like checking on parking lot activity, monitoring campus snow levels and keeping track of special events,” Futo said. 

The installation of cameras has no definitive date, but Buckbee said they are in the process of obtaining them. 

 Liam Morrison is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].