College to add new security cameras and more coverage

A new security system is being implemented for Mt. Hood, and is expected to be installed by June 30.

Wayne Feagle, manager of Public Safety, said MHCC will install approximately 18 new cameras, adding to the existing 26 cameras on campus. Cameras will be installed in zones “where we have the most crime and where the students don’t feel safe,” he said.

Gale Blessing, director of Human Resources, Labor Relations and Institutional Safety, said the new cameras will supply the school live coverage of different areas on campus. They will allow Public Safety to deploy officers if a problem is detected, and can be used to record images to identify suspects or persons of interest and to collect evidence.

Feagle said the new cameras are high-definition digital models that record in real-time and can be set either to record continuously or when movement is detected.

According to Don Adams, manager of IT systems, the new camera system should solve reliability problems the school has encountered with the existing system. The new cameras provide more coverage than the old ones, including giving a 180-degree view where needed, he said.

The project is expected to cost $41,839.

The upgrade process began when Feagle and Blessing formed a committee that developed and executed a scoring process to prioritize the need of cameras in different campus locations.

The improvements were funded using the student Access Fee that was implemented in the Summer Term of 2012. The Access Fee replaced the short-lived parking fees charged in 2011-12; each student enrolled in at least one credit class pays this fee. The Access Fee is for safety and security at MHCC and also helps pay for bus pass discounts available at the bookstore.

The school was required to obtain three bids for the project and obtained bids from ION systems, Protec, and Presidio/Cisco.

Adams said Protec was chosen because it provided the lowest cost solution, and also because its system allows the existing cameras to be utilized alongside the new Protec cameras without rebuilding an old digital server. This allows the school to use the current security cameras for the next two years.

MHCC also has previous experience with Protec, as it has provided MHCC alarm systems, said Feagle.