The UI Police Department is expanding the use of camera technology on campus to strengthen its crime prevention efforts and enhance its ability to locate people who may be in danger.

The department is in the process of installing 28 automated license plate reading (ALPR) cameras, which will send an alert to law enforcement when a stolen car or a car associated with a known wanted suspect from a state or national crime database is detected. The cameras also alert police if a vehicle associated with a missing person in an AMBER Alert or Silver Alert passes a safety camera.

“Keeping our campus open and accessible is critical to our mission of teaching, research, and public service, but we cannot be everywhere at once,” says Mark Bullock, assistant vice president for Campus Safety. “These cameras provide our police officers with another resource to solve and prevent crimes that occur on campus, while still maintaining the privacy, safety, and security of all who call our university home.”

The technology is just one additional tool in the department’s layered approach to supporting campus safety, which includes proactive community policing, safety training programs, threat assessment, and expanding campus resources for mental health support, crisis intervention, and follow-up.