For U.S. K-12 schools, school districts, institutions of higher education, and healthcare facilities, video surveillance is a must-have technology that most campus public safety and security departments use every day, according to the 2024 Video Surveillance Survey from Campus Safety.
Nearly 200 campus security and police executives participated in this year’s survey, which was conducted in November. Nearly all of the respondents (98%) said their organization has at least one video surveillance system. Additionally, 59% of this year’s participants not only have security cameras but are also looking to expand, update or replace what they have in the next two years.
So which features are most important to campus security executives, how are their video surveillance systems being used, and what is prompting so many campuses to upgrade their cameras? More than nine in ten respondents (91%) whose organizations have video surveillance systems use this technology daily (82%) or weekly (9%), which is about the same usage rate as in 2022.
However, more than seven out of ten respondents (71%) this year said their video surveillance systems frequently provide evidence for their investigations. That’s ten percentage points more than two years ago when 61% of respondents marked that their systems frequently provided evidence. Another 26% of 2024 respondents said their cameras sometimes provide evidence for investigations.
Additionally, at 83%, 10% more respondents this year than two years ago said their cameras frequently (40%) or sometimes (43%) act as force multipliers. Nearly eight in ten of this year’s respondents (78%) said their cameras frequently (23%) or sometimes (55%) prevent crime. Additionally, 89% of 2024 survey takers said their video surveillance systems frequently (54%) or sometimes (35%) help their departments monitor their campus during other situations where safety or security issues could arise, such as weather emergencies, athletic events, concerts, protests, etc.
When participants were asked how their organizations use their security cameras, the most popular response for all survey takers was “Monitoring entrances and exits” at 92%, followed by “Monitoring the perimeter” at 76% and “Monitoring parking facilities” at 69%.
However, like in 2022, this year’s respondents from hospitals and institutions of higher education were much more likely to use video surveillance to monitor areas prone to theft (35% and 49% respectively), compared to K-12 respondents (19%).
