New security cameras for W20
McDermott court gate, 6C, will see more security
John A. Hawkinson—The Tech
On July 29, the span of MIT monitored by security cameras broadened to include the sector of W20 (the Student Center) where students await shuttle vans. There are also plans to install cameras at the McDermott Court vehicle entrance between East Campus and Building 66, and also in the Building 6C courtyard.
Thomas W. Komola of the Security and Emergency Management Office said that the W20 camera will prove helpful in tracking illegal dumping of materials at the nearby loading dock. The Campus Activities Complex, which manages the Student Center, requested the camera after noticing trash, including televisions and propane tanks, in a dumpster reserved for single-stream recycling.
According to Komola, the presence of a recording device can serve as a deterrent to future incidents in that area. Thus, the W20 camera doubles as a security resource for students waiting for the shuttle van, though it will not be continuously monitored.
The footage obtained by the cameras will be “kept confidential and only available for a brief period of time,” in line with the security office’s policy on ID card access point data. In the course of a criminal investigation, “The MIT Police Department is the sole entity that may request and use this information,” and “a written request must be signed and presented by the Chief of MIT Police.” See http://web.mit.edu/semo/security_policies.html.
Locations of cameras installed at MIT known to The Tech:
•Parking garage elevators and basement
corridors of Building 32 (nonfunctional)
•Building 18, (Chemistry) 30 cameras
•Outside the hazardous waste storage
facility in Building 12A (uncounted)
•Outside E52’s bicycle racks (uncounted)
•Outside MIT Medical 4 cameras
•Corridors and stairwells of Building 2 4 cameras
•Main corridor of Building 4 1 camera
•Outside W20, by shuttle van waiting area 2 cameras