Hayward Unified School District in Hayward, Calif., located about 25 miles east of San Francisco, plans to add video surveillance at its high school campuses to increase safety and security, according to a newspaper report.

“This type of device puts the community on notice that the premises are being watched,” Barry Schimmel, assistant superintendent of business services, told The Daily Review. “The goal is to deter people from doing anything they shouldn’t be doing.”

Although Schimmel did not estimate on how much the cameras will cost the district, he did say $40,000 has been set aside to install cameras at its three high schools.

Board policy will limit video surveillance to school hallways, stairwells, entrances and other school grounds. Cameras will not be installed in areas where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, according to the district.

The district is modeling its plan after a neighboring district, New Haven Unified, which recently approved surveillance cameras at its schools.

Aside from deterring vandalism and crime, the cameras are also a labor-saving device, Schimmel told the newspaper.

All schools in Hayward are equipped with smoke detectors and door-intrusion devices, Schimmel said, “but that doesn’t tell us anything unless we send someone out there to check it out.”

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