Arkansas District Replaces 1,300 Cameras

Arkansas District Replaces 1,300 Cameras

The Little Rock School District is upgrading its camera system, replacing 1,326 cameras throughout the district.

  • By Jessica Davis
  • June 14, 2019

The Little Rock School District is boosting its security with camera upgrades and a new alarm system.

According to district safety and security director Ron Self, it’s been more than 20 years since the last time the district upgraded their camera system. Self told KATV that before the most recent upgrade, the district’s cameras could barely recognize faces, but there’s a “huge difference” now that high-resolution 4K cameras have been installed.

 “The zoom capabilities are just out of this world, so the detail on them before facial recognition was not really possible," Self said. "Now it is."

The Little Rock School District has replaced 1,326 cameras throughout its middle and high school campuses, which cost about $1.2 million.

The district also installed a new alarm system on 40 campuses. The district said the upgraded alarm system is actually cheaper than the old system.

"[It] gives us app access to be able to arm and disarm all buildings remotely and it also ended up being right at $2,000-a-month savings in alarm bills,” Self said.

Self said the district considers its commitment to safety a top priority, but they also hope the increased security measures will help prevent student misbehavior.

"Anytime you've got more security aspects, as far as security and alarms, and people know about it, it's always a deterrent,” Self said. “They say, 'Hey, if I do this they're going to see exactly who I am and what I’m doing,' so it makes people tend to think twice."

Once funds are available, the district plans to upgrade the alarm systems on about five more campuses.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

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