New cameras with upgraded security software debut in Henrico schools

Henrico County Public Schools officials have installed new, improved security cameras in many of their middle and high schools – leading to privacy concerns from some parents and organizations.

The new cameras will allow administrators to search through footage for a certain predefined image – such as a particular student’s face, clothing, or backpack – in order to identify people without rewinding and fast-forwarding through footage to identify them visually.

“Previously, we had to rewind and fast-forward through footage to look for a student who, for example, may have been in a fight,” Henrico Schools Superintendent Amy Cashwell told the Citizen. “This software just saves some time.”

The schools will not keep a database of students’ faces, nor is the information captured on them shared with law enforcement, according to Cashwell.

The cameras do not have ‘facial recognition technology’ that is specifically trained on faces, Cashwell said, but instead have the ability to search for any image – usually a backpack or piece of clothing that could identify a student.

Though school officials would not say which schools have the new cameras, for security reasons, Chief of Operations Lenny Pritchard said at an Aug. 27 Henrico School Board meeting that they were being installed in middle and high schools. Pritchard also said that staff members had received a training session from the cameras’ manufacturer, Verkada.

On its website, Verkada (a California company) touts its security cameras as using "AI-powered analytics" to provide smart-search filters that can help isolate incidents of interest quickly. Its systems also allow school administrators to find and share footage through a mobile app and to share live camera feeds with emergency responders immediately, according to its website.

The new security cameras are among the measures HCPS officials are taking to heighten security this year – efforts that also include hiring 10 new school resource officers to serve as alternates when the regular officers are absent or training.

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Some parents took to social media to speculate about the new cameras, concerned that they came with facial recognition technology that may infringe on students’ privacy.

Heather Goodman is the parent of three students who attend elementary, middle, and high schools. When she heard rumors of the new cameras’ capabilities, she was concerned.

“I’d rather focus on the basic things we can do to keep our kids safe,” Goodman wrote in an email to the Citizen. “Staff training, appropriate school maintenance – making sure doors lock when shut – and communication with and responsiveness of law enforcement.”

Goodman said that her high-schooler was particularly concerned about the cameras’ ability to detect students around plumes of vape smoke. She said that it may lead to kids who are not vaping being associated with smoke they just happened to be near.

“If vaping is happening in a bathroom, some kids are not doing it – they’re just going to the bathroom like they’re supposed to,” Goodman wrote.

Cashwell said that there are no cameras in the restrooms in schools – but that restrooms do have heat detectors, which can activate cameras just outside to identify students leaving.

The heat detectors are there for fire safety, as well as to detect students who may be smoking or vaping.

The ACLU of Virginia issued a statement in March that opposed the usage of facial recognition technology in the state.

“Technologies like this are disproportionately used in Black and Brown communities, and despite what vendor test data claims, facial recognition technology has been shown to be more inaccurate in identifying Black and Brown people, especially when the photo is grainy, when the lighting is bad, and when the suspect is not looking directly at the camera,” the statement reads in part.

The statement was written in opposition to Virginia Senate Bill 741 and House Bill 1339, which allowed the state of Virginia to use facial recognition technology in criminal investigations.

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Matt Callahan, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Virginia, said that although the technology used in Henrico schools is not true ‘facial recognition,’, the ACLU still has concerns about technologies like this.

“Generally, our concerns about facial recognition tech extend to any software that is using technology to identify people,” Callahan said.

Not only are these technologies less likely to be able to properly identify those with dark skin, Callahan said, but they also are less able to identify women and children than men.

“Not only is this technology not trained on children’s faces, but children can change appearance even throughout the course of the school year,” Callahan said.

The ACLU also opposes increased surveillance in schools in general, Callahan said.

“Studies have shown that increasing surveillance and police presence in schools does not overall lead to safer schools,” he said.

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Anya Sczerzenie is the Henrico Citizen’s education reporter and a Report for America corps member. Make a tax-deductible donation to support her work, and RFA will match it dollar for dollar. Sign up here for her free weekly education newsletter.