Oklahoma City councilwoman raises concerns over police access to school cameras

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — An Oklahoma City leader is sharing her concerns after council voted to allow police to monitor school camera feeds. In a follow-up to a story we first brought you Tuesday, Fox 25 spoke with Councilwoman JoBeth Hamon.

Hamon says the plan makes her have privacy concerns for students.

"I'm a little bit frustrated at sort of the lack of transparency I think in general at the Real Time Information Center."

Hamon says she wasn't given much notice about Tuesday's amendment.

"We didn't find out about it until it was put on the agenda on Friday. There was no presentation scheduled about it, and it just seems like a pretty big deal."

The plan in question: allowing the Oklahoma City Police Department to access school security cameras via an increase in the city's contract with Fusus, a company contracted with OKCPD for its Real Time Information Center, for $90,000.

"It's public money, and it seems like it should be held up to scrutiny, especially when the information about how and when it will be used is fairly opaque."

Police Chief Wade Gourley says officers want to have immediate access to school security cameras during an emergency.

Through a 5-3 vote, city leaders approved the measure. Hamon voted against it.

"A lot of my concern comes from how and can this kind of access to these video feeds be used against students. If it is accessed inappropriately, how that will be dealt with and accountability for those sorts of things?"

She says the city is spending a lot of money on reacting to problems instead of addressing them.

"Now we have all these extra tools of surveilling young people potentially, but we're still not really doing much to help them actually feel safe in their schools."

Hamon says she's going to work on how to educate people about this amendment.

Gourley says school districts like Oklahoma City Public Schools, Mid-Del, Moore, Mustang and Yukon Public Schools want this to happen.

Oklahoma City Public Schools released the following statement to Fox 25:

OKCPS (Oklahoma City Public Schools) is actively collaborating with the Oklahoma City Police Department (OKCPD) on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to allow the police department access to school security cameras and live streams in OKCPS under certain emergency conditions. The MOU will enable the police to tap into school security camera feeds in real-time during critical incidents and emergency response situations, while providing safeguards to protect student privacy as required by state and federal law. It's important to note that OKCPS security will play a pivotal role in establishing parameters on conditional camera access.

While OKCPS has implemented a range of security measures and protocols aimed at preventing incidents that would warrant the utilization of this technology, we recognize the added layer of protection that real-time camera access can provide. Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our students and staff, and we believe that this collaborative effort with OKCPD reinforces our commitment to providing a safe and secure learning environment.

We will continue to work closely with law enforcement and relevant stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of this initiative, while also respecting the privacy and rights of all individuals, particularly students, involved.

Mid-Del Schools spokeswoman Stacey Boyer shared the following statement with Fox 25:

We want our law enforcement partners to have access without delay during any emergency situation. Our support does not include routine monitoring during the day.

Moore Public Schools spokeswoman Anna Aguilar spoke with our newsroom:

Moore Public Schools has a long-standing and strong partnership with the Oklahoma City and Moore Police Departments. We will allow our local law enforcement agencies access to our video feeds in the event of an emergency or situation that requires an immediate police response.

We want first responders to have as much information before their arrival and when they’re on the scene to not only ensure our safety but theirs, as well. The intent is to ensure the safety of our students, staff members, patrons, and the police officers themselves, and access to our camera feeds is a big part of that solution.

Mustang Public Schools spokesperson Kirk Wilson stresses the importance of safety:

The safety and security of our students and staff is our number 1 priority, and we are interested in any efforts that could enhance our efforts to provide the best learning environment possible for our students. Currently, our School Resource Officers (Mustang PD and Canadian County Sheriff) have access to our cameras on-site in the event of an emergency, but this does not include routine monitoring. We look forward to learning more about the program approved today and how it might benefit the students of Mustang.

Despite Gourley saying Yukon Public Schools is interested in the idea, YPS spokeswoman Kayla Agnitsch shared this response with Fox 25:

Yukon Public Schools always works with law enforcement partners in the event of emergency or crisis situations. However, we have not had any discussions with OKCPD regarding the monitoring or viewing of our security cameras.