With ever-increasing cases of breach of security in college and university campuses, there has been a growing trend of installing CCTV surveillance systems in campuses across India. Just like any other administrative decision, the decision to install CCTV surveillance systems to reinforce the concept of safe universities requires a thorough analysis of multiple parameters. In this article, we shall address the pros & cons, costs, privacy concerns and legal aspects of installing CCTV cameras in Colleges and Universities. So, let’s start with the most common question that arises in the minds of all stakeholders, be they the Students, Institute Administration, Policy-makers, Parents or the public in general.
Are CCTV Cameras Needed in Colleges and Universities?
Before we answer this question, let us look at the recent trends of increase in crime rates in universities across the world. Different kinds of criminal activity have been reported in universities in recent times, which include petty theft and dacoity, hooliganism by antisocial elements, trespassing by salespersons, littering, bullying and ragging, drug dealing and abuse, terrorism, possession of dangerous weapons etc. These have raised serious questions about campus safety and security.
According to the latest State of Ragging in India 2022–24 report by Society Against Violence in Education, a total of 51 deaths due to ragging have been reported in campuses across India between 2022 and 2024. The presence of campus CCTV cameras, along with AI powered surveillance, could have significantly mitigated the occurrence of such unfortunate incidents. According to another survey report by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJ&E), there has been a rise in the drugs and substance use among the students in India.
In recent times, multiple reputed newsmedia agencies like The Times of India, Washington Post, BBC etc. have reported sporadic incidents of firing within and around college and university campuses, violent protests and hooliganism in India as well as many other countries across the world.
The most important thing to note about most of these incidents is the absence of very limited presence of CCTV surveillance in the targeted campuses, resulting in intelligence failures and untimely action by law enforcement authorities. Hence, it is clear that CCTV Cameras are absolutely needed in colleges and universities, and campus security camera is the need of the hour to enhance campus safety and security.
Pros of Using CCTV Systems in College Campuses
While there are numerous benefits of installing campus security cameras and cameras in classrooms, let us have a closer look at the major advantages.
Teacher Safety
Cameras in classrooms help improve teacher safety by capturing visual records of incidents of verbal or physical abuse, or any other form of harassment of the faculty members by any student or group of students.
Student Protection
Campus security cameras ensure student protection at all times from trespassers, aggressive staff members, antisocial elements attempting to infiltrate into the campus, and other security risks.
Chaos Control
Vandalism, violent protests and infighting between groups of students, though unfortunate, are not uncommon in college and university campuses. While behavioral changes are never predictable, pro-active alert management and suitable action by law enforcement agencies can prevent such situations from escalating. This is where CCTV student safety comes into play – AI-powered modern CCTV surveillance systems in campuses can analyse behavioral actions and crowd formations, and send real-time alerts to college administration and security officers whenever any foul-play is detected.
Prevent Harassment and Bullying
While conventional CCTV systems are effective in controlling bullying and ragging incidents in college and university campuses, AI-powered surveillance systems have gone a step ahead in creating safe universities. AI algorithms analyse CCTV footages in real-time to identify if interactions between students within the campus are friendly, or constitute bullying. Moreover, it is also important to ensure that there is zero downtime in these surveillance systems, so that the footage is not tampered with.
Theft and Burglary Protection
Campus security cameras can accurately detect and provide visual records of any attempt of petty theft or burglary in classrooms, libraries or student hostels. These visual records can serve as crucial evidence and sources of identification of the criminals. AI-powered campus security cameras are even more effective, as they can proactively detect such attempts even before the act of theft is committed, and alert the authorities.
Control Drug Dealers and Antisocial Activities
Drug and substance abuse is becoming a major headache for campus administration as well as law enforcement agencies. Drug peddlers are finding out innovative ways to smuggle prohibited substances into campuses and hostels, making it extremely difficult for narcotics control agencies to foil their attempts. However, campus CCTV cameras have been very effective is identifying both the students victims and the drug peddlers in many campuses. Additionally, AI-based facial recognition and machine learning algorithms can analyse CCTV footages in real-time to identify such suspicious individuals from past police records and also behavioral actions.
Cons of CCTV Cameras in University Campuses
Despite the several benefits of installing campus security cameras, there exist some disadvantages and problems with CCTV installations in university campuses. Let us look into these problems and weigh the pros over the cons.
Privacy Concerns
Many student bodies, social organisations and even faculty-bodies have raised concerns regarding invasion of privacy owing to CCTV surveillance, especially the presence of cameras in classrooms. However in recent times, after multiple rounds of discussions among stakeholders, students’ bodies have agreed to CCTV surveillance in university campuses.
Low effectiveness
While traditional CCTV systems provide visual evidence of already committed crimes, pro-active prevention required manual intervention. Though AI-based campus security cameras have somewhat solved this problem, there have been cases of false negative alerts being raised, leading to unwarranted confusion. Hopefully, as these AI algorithms are trained on larger volumes of data, such incidents can be mitigated.
Repair and Maintenance Costs
Since most universities and colleges, especially State-funded institutes, already operate on a tight budget, installing campus security cameras would mean added financial stress on the college administration, which may eventually have to be passed on to students. Operational costs and AMC costs keep increasing every year, becoming a major pain point for universities.
Poor Quality Hardware
The video-quality and resolution capabilities of CCTV student safety cameras may not be effective in accurate identification of nuisance-makers. Moreover, prolonged exposure to heat, rain and extreme weather conditions further degrades the effectiveness of these systems in enhancing campus safety and security.
Legal Concerns regarding CCTV in College Campus
Though there are no clear statutory guidelines specific to CCTV Surveillance in University and College campuses in India, institutes may define specific clauses in their Statutes in this regard. Moreover, Universities and Colleges must comply with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and The Information Technology Rules, 2011 to ensure data security, consent in data capture and transparency of data usage related to surveillance systems.
So, it is recommended that University and College authorities hold multiple rounds of discussions with all internal stakeholders as well as law-enforcement bodies, before implementing CCTV surveillance systems to ensure campus safety and security.
How Transline Technologies is Implementing Campus Security Cameras and Surveillance Systems
With AI-driven surveillance, real-time threat detection, and end-to-end security solutions, Transline Technologies is redefining campus safety and security. With CheckCam+, Transline ensures 24/7 Surveillance Uptime, minimising risks associated with camera tampering, system malfunctions and network faults. At Transline Technologies, we understand the concerns over CCTV video storage costs for universities. Our CAMSTORE solution helps universities save upto 90% on storage volume and associated costs through Video Data Optimisation, which significantly improves Storage Efficiency with Advanced Compression Technology. Further, our latest solution StorePulse AI leverages AI-powered video analytics to proactively detect and raise alerts related to possible use-cases such as incidents of burglary, violence, bullying and other unwarranted activities in the campus. Transline Technologies strongly aligns with the vision of empowering Safe Universities in India.
