Mobile camera units will remain in place for at least several weeks

The mobile camera units, located at various places on Campus Woudestein, will remain in place at least until mid-June. The camera poles appeared on 16 May, when a pro-Palestinian protest was scheduled to take place and all campus buildings were locked for that reason.

The day after the protest, the poles were not removed. It now seems that the university wants to use them for a longer period.

Blind spots

In Tuesday’s University Council meeting, Executive Board President Ed Brinksma told reporters that the existing camera surveillance on Campus Woudestein is flawed. The cameras did not capture, for example, who sprayed graffiti on the Starbucks exterior wall, Brinksma told me.

Another reason for the extra cameras is the recent break-ins at, for example, the Erasmus Pavilion and the P building. A spokesperson for the university informs us that a study is underway on whether the current fixed cameras are still adequate. This study will include whether more permanent cameras are needed to cover ‘blind spots’.

Stored for 7 days

The mobile camera units temporarily cover (part of) those blind spots. They will remain where they are until at least mid-June and are active 24 hours a day. They are used in accordance with university camera regulations to protect the safety of employees, students, visitors, and university property. The images are deleted after seven days, unless they are needed for further investigation. In that case, they are viewed by the in-house security service.

The University Council has the right of approval for the installation of cameras. However, this did not happen for these units. There is a Council representative present during the crisis meetings, however. The Council was therefore still represented in this ‘ad hoc decision’, the spokesperson said.