Campus Presidents with the Mayor’s office, the Atlanta Police Department, City Council and other partners work together to install 35 cameras and five license plate readers throughout the AUC neighborhood.
Today, the Atlanta University Center Consortium Council of Presidents and Mayor Kasim Reed announced the completion of a collaborative surveillance program that strategically places video cameras and license plate readers around the campus community to create a safer environment.
Working through the University Community Development Corp., a community development arm of the AUC, Presidents Dr. John Wilson, Dr. Ronald Johnson, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, and Dr.
Mary Schmidt Campbell have forged a partnership with the Atlanta Police Foundation and the Atlanta Police Department to install 35 cameras and five license plate readers around the AUC
community. The cameras are monitored by AUC police at their respective schools and APD’s video integration center. The VIC’s state-of-the-art system provides a cohesive unit of 24/7
video feeds from the cameras to serve as an additional layer of security to increase the scope and reach of existing campus police departments.
“The city of Atlanta under the leadership of Mayor Kasim Reed continues to be a model partner with our community. This effort is an example of how government and community can work
together for the good of all,” said Dr. John Silvanus Wilson, president of Morehouse College and chair of the Council of Presidents. “Our partnership positions the Atlanta University Center as a
safer environment not only for our students but for those who work and live on our campuses and in our neighboring communities.”
Each institution – Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Spelman College – paying equal amounts, and the mayor’s office contributing the remaining
balance, funded the $700,000 project. The effort highlights the priority the AUCC institutions and the city have to combat crime in the community.
“The installation of the cameras is a collaborative effort between the AUC schools and the city of Atlanta to improve the safety and security for all students, faculty, staff, and neighbors who reside
in the AUC community,” said Rita B. Gibson, interim executive director for UCDC. “The joint efforts of these institutions and the city are a shining example of a successful public-private partnership.”
The system’s cameras stream to a server at the data center in the AUC Woodruff Library. “It makes sense for this library, which is shared by these institutions, to be the aggregation point for the video
feeds,” noted Loretta Parham, CEO and director of the AUC Woodruff Library. “We already have an efficient infrastructure in place to support the camera surveillance program.”
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