Tustin police officers are set to get access to certain cameras in local schools in an attempt to improve awareness and response times during emergencies or threats of violence.
It’s part of a partnership between the Tustin Unified School District and the Tustin Police Department that was approved by city council members during a meeting last month. Officers are expected to get the camera feed access by the end of the year.
It comes at a time when a host of residents across Orange County are growing increasingly concerned about surveillance cameras intruding on people’s privacy rights.
That’s especially true for automated license plate reader devices known as Flock cameras that record driver’s license plates and store the information in a database that police officers can access when investigating crimes.
Scores of residents across the county and nation have spoken out against the devices, claiming they don’t want their movements tracked and recorded.
The City of Fullerton was the first in OC to put a pause on their use of Flock cameras for the next six months to see what it will be like without them. The Tustin Police Department also uses Flock cameras.
Tustin City Council members unanimously approved an agreement during a Sept. 1 meeting that establishes guidelines for connecting selected schools’ surveillance cameras to the police department’s public safety technology platform.
“The [agreement] allows Tustin PD to access the TUSD camera system for situational awareness and to inform responses to active threats,” Tustin Mayor Austin Lumbard wrote in an email to Voice of OC.
The partnership would authorize Tustin police officers to have access to surveillance cameras during situations when they are aware of an emergency at a school or if a 911 call is received.
Lumbard said that the partnership can serve as an additional layer to enhance the safety and security of students and staff.
Some residents who spoke at the September city council meeting said this agreement should not have been approved as it raises concerns for the privacy of children.
“I do not, as a mother and future Tustin Unified parent, support bringing this system to our school and delivering images of our children to a company over which we have no control,” resident Andrea Foster said.
The partnership establishes a safeguard for the camera access to be used responsibly with the aim to keep students and faculty safe, according to the city staff report.
Only authorized police personnel would be able to access video information for public safety purposes.
Access to surveillance cameras is meant to improve coordinated response to emergencies, better Tustin PD’s ability to assess an incident and provide officers with situational awareness before their arrival to the school campus.
Police officers will be able to see video information in real time, but the system would not give them unrestricted access to the schools’ cameras.
“As a father of four children currently in TUSD schools, I absolutely would want Tustin PD to have this important resource available if, God forbid, any emergency was to occur on one of our school campuses,” Mayor Lumbard wrote.
The school district will determine what cameras are available for video information during law enforcement incidents or emergencies.
Cameras will remain property of the school district, not the city of Tustin.
“The agreement also provides limited access in the event of a criminal investigation,” Rina Lucchese, a Tustin Unified School District spokesperson, wrote in an email. “This agreement does not give access to camera systems at all times, instead granting access only through TUSD staff in a determined circumstance.”
Tustin Unified School District board members said they believe this partnership is important for the overall campus safety when they approved the agreement on Aug. 24.
Video kept by the police department will be stored in accordance with their department standards and Criminal Justice Information Services requirements, according to the city council’s staff report.
Residents Raise Surveillance Concerns
Some residents also voiced concern during the city council meeting about whether the cameras would be used by federal immigration officers.
“Who here, in the council, at the police station, will be responsible when, for example, the next ICE raid will happen,” Tustin resident Michelle, who only provided a first name, said at the Sept. 1 city council meeting.
“That threat is always gonna be there. Will you be the ones to refuse when a federal ICE agent demands that you hand over this pretty new data that you curated for them to misuse?”
During the meeting, Councilmember Lee Fink said the police department follows state law which prohibits sharing information with ICE.
“I know that the school district is committed to following California law,” Fink said.
“These are not cameras that the city is installing, or that the city owns,” he added. “These are cameras that the school district has on campus.”
There will not be any new additional cameras added on school campuses as a result of the agreement, and it does not change where the cameras are currently installed.
Fink said he “appreciates the comments to make sure there are safeguards” and followed up with residents “to see if they can implement some ideas.”
The partnership is estimated to go into effect by the end of this year and will remain in effect for three years, unless terminated earlier.
It comes at a time when residents in Orange County and nationwide are raising concerns about surveillance cameras and if they’re impeding on people’s privacy.
Earlier this year in Costa Mesa, a former police officer used the city’s Flock license plate reader camera surveillance system to stalk his ex-wife and others.
“This was entirely a preventable scenario that went on for years and a police department that claimed they did weekly audits to stop this very scenario,” resident Lena Nguyen said at the Sept. 1 meeting, referring to the Costa Mesa controversy.
The Tustin Unified School District already has preestablished limits with their security cameras stating that “all security camera footage will be saved for 30 days to review activity in the event of a suspected crime.”
“I personally am a big proponent of public safety,” Tustin Councilmember Ray Schnell said.
“I’ve been a big proponent of school safety and actually very supportive of this MOU. The intent of this is not to surveil children or students, it’s to, in a moment of crisis, allow the police to be prepared to actually show up and respond.”
The Collegiate News Service is a partnership between Voice of OC and local student journalists. Contact the Collegiate News Service Editor Angelina Hicks at ahicks@voiceofoc.org
