A leader in campus security, Penn is watching

With dozens of consoles stacked in a semi-circle of surveillance, the security monitoring station looks a little daunting.

But it's when Director of Security and Technical Services Domenic Ceccanecchio manipulates a video game looking joystick to zoom a camera perched at 40th and Locust to the front steps of 1920 Commons that you realize this high tech oasis is not just for show.

There are 40 high speed street cameras and over 130 building cameras dispersed throughout campus. They can track suspects moving throughout the area. They can provide an evidentiary record to later convict criminals.

They could count the freckles on your face.

"This didn't appear overnight," Ceccanecchio explains, sweeping his hand over the security center with a gesture that is both subtle and proud.

In less than a decade the University has seen a 32 percent drop in crime. But it was a change brought on by years of expansion, innovation and expense.

"The benchmark to what started all this was the campus back in 1996," Ceccanecchio says, remembering the University as it was with only hardwire phones, no street cameras, no video monitoring center and no electronic building access.

"At that point the administration from Rodin on down made a commitment," Ceccanecchio says. "That's why pretty much everything you see is state of the art."

State of the art means cameras with up to a two block zoom capacity. Cameras that can switch themselves over to black and white for better resolution in the dark. Blue light safety phones that perform self maintenance checks every 24 hours. And a self-sufficient control room that will remain powered by its own generator even if the University finds itself in the dark.

The installation, construction and equipment that goes into making a single street camera operational typically carries a $25,000 price tag.

"A lot of universities don't go through this kind of expense," Ceccanecchio says. "But the one thing the University has done is not ignore anything that might improve security on campus."

And recently, people have begun to notice.

Ceccanecchio routinely gives tours of the security facilities to officials at other universities. He has explained the technology behind security at Penn to officials from the University of Delaware and has four more colleges scheduled to come in this week. Last month the Chronicle of Higher Education featured Penn in an article on campus security.

Perhaps most satisfying for Ceccanecchio and the others behind the electronic eyes, Security on Campus -- an organization established to foster security improvements on college campuses -- selected Penn to receive the Jeanne Cleary Campus Safety Award last month.

"In this particular case we felt the University of Pennsylvania over the past five years or so has used a combination of technology that other schools might want to take a look at," Security on Campus Executive Director Howard Cleary says, outlining this year's selection process for the award that honors the memory of his sister.

Jeanne Cleary was murdered in her dorm room at Lehigh University in 1986. Other colleges that bestowed with the Cleary Award recently include the University of Delaware, Michigan State University and Boston University. This year the award was shared by Penn and the University of Bridgeport.

"This award... lets the rest of the academic world know that schools are fighting campus crime with programs that do work," Cleary says.

Heading up many such programs on Penn's campus, Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush attributes the recognition by Security on Campus to a collection of proactive crime fighting tactics like community involvement and a growing police force.

Calling security technology a "big factor," in the award, Rush also notes that the Cleary family toured the campus and the security facilities.

"They truly saw our concern and care for our community," Rush says.

"I really am thrilled and it's very satisfying to be recognized by such an agency," adds Rush.

Yet while accolades may be piling up, the idea of constant surveillance still invites comparison by some to George Orwell's 1984 and the ever-watchful Big Brother.

Specifically, civil liberties advocates are concerned about the implications video monitoring may have for privacy rights.

"Everybody recognizes that surveillance can be a useful law enforcement tool, but we also are concerned that widespread use of cameras creates an atmosphere where everybody is being watched all the time," Pennsylvania American Civil Liberties Executive Director David DiSabatino says.

"We would be concerned about the effect on people's ability to participate in peaceful protest if they feel they they are being monitored and that their activities are being recorded," DiSabatino adds. "We would want to know what safeguards there are to make sure that the images are not being used for that purpose."

In response to concerns about access and motivation, University Police are strict about protocol and prepped for allaying these types of misgivings.

Ceccanecchio reports that tapes are only kept for 15 days and are stored in a different location from where they are monitored to prevent unauthorized access.

"We only look for certain specific activity -- we don't watch people, we don't look into buildings," he explains.

Calling these habits a "big no-no," Ceccanecchio notes that if employees are caught monitoring inappropriately they can be terminated.

Protocol for monitoring the cameras is mapped out in a detailed policy that the Department of Public Safety posts online.

Noting that the monitoring protocol has become a model for other universities, Ceccanecchio recalls that "everyone who's anyone had a part in this policy."

According to the policy, those wary of their private actions being documented have no reason to worry.

"Camera control operators will not spot and continuously view people becoming intimate in public areas," says a specific clause of the policy, which consistently emphasizes privacy rights and nondiscrimination.

All camera locations are also posted on the public safety website and printed biannually in the Almanac.

Public safety officials assert that there is no reason to shy away from publishing these details.

"What we're trying to tell the bad guys is don't come to Penn," Ceccanecchio says, arguing that the cameras -- and the blue street signs publicizing their locations -- are meant to serve as a deterrent as well as a monitoring tool.

Noting that video monitoring "on surface, seems like a gross violation of privacy," Penn ACLU Vice President of Promotions Michael Brownfield recognizes the delicate balance between security and privacy.

"The Penn Police have disclosed all locations of cameras in use and have reassured the Penn community that they will only be used to fight crime," Brownfield wrote in an e-mail statement. "It's safe to say the privacy of Penn students won't be routinely violated, but its still a concern."

"Personally, I'd like to see more community oversight of the Public Safety Division," he added.

Cautious as well, DiSabatino looks toward the need to continue this monitoring of the monitors.

"I just want to be careful that the purpose of these cameras does not get expanded," DiSabatino says. "We have run into issues in other places where once cameras have been installed, other agencies -- including state and federal agencies -- request access to the video feeds."

While University Police officials have released no plans to use the cameras for other purposes, they will likely expand the current system.

"Is this going to grow?" Ceccanecchio asks with the assurance of someone who already has plans in mind.

"Absolutely."

Rush readily explains her vision of a "master plan" that will enable officials to view all of the streets surrounding Penn. Having already installed "blue light" emergency phones beyond the University campus up to 43rd Street, the Division of Public Safety intends to site more cameras farther east and west.

"As the University grows, we're expanding security with that," Ceccanecchio says.

Other types of new technology projects already in the works include tightened security on the entrances to the Quadrangle and Hamilton College House. Students will need to swipe their PennCards as usual, but also will need to enter individualized electronic pin numbers.

"We're always looking at new technology," Ceccanecchio says, mentioning that his office has looked into installing hand geometry readers and iris scanners on campus.

"The most precious resource we have to protect is the students," he adds. "I could sit down and talk about this for hours."

Ceccanecchio is a man with a mission.

"It creates an atmosphere where we think people are safe and where people feel safe -- we think that's just as important."

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