A Meeting with Sergeant Chris Goss

A Meeting with Sergeant Chris Goss of the UW Police Force:
A Paraphrased Rendering of a Question and Answer Period

UW Police Services, March 2009

Waterloo Watchmen:
What can you tell us about recent innovation in surveillance technology at UW? Where is the university heading in terms of its future goals?

Sergeant Goss:
One of the most interesting developments underway right now is a project being headed by a group of engineering students that involves an aerial surveillance system—a kind of flying model plane/camera. That might be something you’ll want to look into. However, that’s not something that I see UW adopting in terms of an actual implemented system. UW has always had a strong stance against invasion of privacy and respects that some areas of campus should and will not be surveyed by technology (for example, the residence areas). At WLU they have an “eye in the sky” system that surveys the entire campus—they began using this technology approximately 3 years ago and it came with a heavy price tag. That kind of tech is not something that UW will likely ever have due to their interest in citizen privacy (and, realistically, budget limitations). This interest is also why there are no hidden surveillance cameras anywhere on campus—we believe in using these systems to deter crime and unruly behaviour and we believe that everyone should be made aware of the presence of cameras. This seems to be more in line with what I might call the “spirit of the university.”

Waterloo Watchmen:
We noticed that a number of the cameras across campus are indoor cameras. This seems unusual since many other universities focus on outdoor surveillance. Are there cameras outside as well?

Sergeant Goss:
There are a select few outdoor cameras—I believe about three. One that comes to mind immediately is the wide scope outdoor camera located at the front of Fed. Hall. However, we do focus on indoor surveillance because we’ve found that areas of social density are the most likely to be troublesome. That’s why you’ll see large groups of cameras in congregation areas such as the cafeterias and lounges.

Waterloo Watchmen:
How do these digital camera systems work?

Sergeant Goss:
The cameras usually send their feed to a recording system that, with the exception of a few high traffic areas, is not manned. Instead, the feed is recorded for future reference in the case of a crime. Our cameras have fairly high definition in most places and are capable of making facial recognition possible. For those cameras that are manned, such as the ones in the SLC, remote control of the cameras direction and zoom options are available to assist us in this regard. In terms of watching camera footage live, this also allows us to have the dispatchers give important information about situations at hand to pass on to the officers on their way to the scene.

Waterloo Watchmen:
How long does the recorded feed last?

Sergeant Goss:
The feed has about a 30 day retention—but this will vary depending on the location and storage system. Many of the campus cameras are also available through URL (these are called IP cameras...or Internet Protocol Cameras). This system is also used at WLU. So if we need to see something in real time we can access the feed through the web. In rare cases if a serious event is going down on the WLU campus, they’ll send us the URL feed.

Waterloo Watchmen:
So the UW police don’t have immediate access to all the surveillance footage on campus?

Sergeant Goss:
UW is a bit strange in that many departments have implemented their own surveillance systems. If you see web-cam type cameras or cameras mounted at low levels you can be sure they were installed internally. Some departments feel this is necessary in order to protect their equipment or supplies.

Waterloo Watchmen:
We did notice some computer labs were being monitored by less “professional” looking systems—such as the system set up in the PAS computer lab. We also noticed some inconsistency regarding surveillance across buildings. Is there a specific reason that some academic buildings have more surveillance than others?

Sergeant Goss:
The number of cameras in a given building is usually related to the resources stored in that building. For example, chemical storage in some buildings requires heavier surveillance due to the sheer value of the material being stored. There are also issues of safety in these areas. Buildings with less valuable equipment or supplies are simply less-likely to be targeted. However, there is also an economic aspect to it. Each faculty pays separately for their surveillance, and so it remains up to them as to how much they want to spend and what needs to be protected.

Waterloo Watchmen:
Do you think the success of surveillance technology across UW relies more on inferred “watching” rather than actual captured video?

Sergeant Goss:
We want people to assume that, in most populated locations, they are being watched...although this is hardly the case. There was a recent OACP position paper that deals with this subject in more detail that you might want to look into—you can find it on the OACP website under Position Papers or White Papers, I’m not sure which one.

Waterloo Watchmen:
Are there current plans to expand the university’s or the police department’s financial commitment to surveillance?

Sergeant Goss:
We are considering the use of more technologically advanced camera systems. One thing we are working toward is adding motion detection technology to our cameras—this would mean that if a person moved in a restricted area, or even in an area that should be unoccupied for the time (like late at night) than the video feed from those cameras would pop up on the feed screen. It seems inefficient to us (and expensive) to have some one sit and stare at a screen of 8 camera feeds. A motion detection system would let our officers know when it’s worth watching.

Waterloo Watchmen:
You’ve mentioned these “feed screens” a number of times now. What exactly are they and how do they work?

Sergeant Goss:
I’m only personally familiar with the screens hooked up to our building here. As you probably saw when you walked in, our public desk area has 3 monitors which each display 4 grids at a time. We can then choose to make any one grid full-screen for greater detail. I believe there is something similar in the SLC.

Waterloo Watchmen:
I am a little reluctant to ask this, as I know it might be sensitive information, but can you tell me exactly how many cameras are active across the UW campus?

Sergeant Goss:
To be honest I don’t know the exact number of the top of my head, although that is information I can easily get for you. Funny, but I know that WLU runs exactly 253 cameras. I believe that our numbers are somewhere around 130. (Note: this statistic was later corrected by Sergeant Goss, through e-mail, to 107). WLU even has a wall of monitors they can observe, but they’re coming from a more tech-heavy philosophy.

Waterloo Watchmen:
Do you find that the architecture of any of the campus buildings makes surveillance particularly challenging. A walk through the PAS building this morning made us realize that some areas must be difficult to watch over.

Sergeant Goss:
There is an entire system of study and design dedicated to that known as CPED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design). These guys look at lighting issues, the heights of buildings, landscaping barriers, entrance and exit location, etc. UW takes environmental design very seriously. We’ve worked hard over the years to increase lighting to certain areas and we actively encourage the use of the help phone booths (direct emergency phone lines) located across campus in high traffic, low light areas. We also run police patrols throughout the campus.

Waterloo Watchmen:
Are there any locations that you would like to see an increase of surveillance in?

Sergeant Goss:
We could use more external cameras, as well as better surveillance in the faculty buildings.

Waterloo Watchmen:
How many calls does the campus police station get per year?

Sergeant Goss:
We get around 2000 calls each year. Of these, the vast majority are false alarms or “confused” people. I’d say about 10% of our calls fit into a traditional crime type, but our power to deal with criminal acts is limited. We can deal with lower level, basic crime such as straight fraud, theft, etc. However, once it reaches a second tier, crimes that fall under the “dual procedure” heading, then the issue is passed off to regional police. These crimes include things like sexual assault, stalking, crimes involving injury, and any crime resulting in a criminal act result in damages over $5000 in value. Basically the campus police are the first line in dealing with these situations. We have one investigative sergeant who works with. Our intention with surveillance is to have maximum coverage, with minimum intrusion. We’re not trying to get into any J. Hoover territory. That’s not really in the spirit of the university.

Waterloo Watchmen:
Can you tell us a little more about the police patrols that run through campus?

Sergeant Goss:
Sure. Since we’re the first line of response, or the first aid that’s going to reach a situation, we make sure there are officers somewhere on the actual grounds 24 hrs a day. We want people to feel as safe as possible both day and night. A typical platoon is made up of 4 officers, although about half the time this is limited to 3 due to sickness, vacation time, or training programs—all of which leave us slightly short handed. The rotation of these patrols varies depending on a number of variables—but there is always a group out there.

Waterloo Watchmen:
What is the UW police jurisdiction?

Sergeant Goss:
The jurisdiction of UW police is limited to university property. I’m an exception to that rule since I’m also a regional police officer. Even if we’re driving between campus locations, we only have authority once we reach them.

Waterloo Watchmen:
Do the buildings across campus have alarm systems? I know that a number of the residence buildings do not...what about more central buildings?

Sergeant Goss:
I’d like to first respond to your comments regarding residences. All residence front desks have silent panic alarms installed so that, when the building is open, those inside can feel safe. The panic alarm runs through the UW police station and directly to the 911 line.
The larger departmental buildings across campus all have alarm systems installed that are both motion and contact activated. However, these systems are rarely used since most buildings are open 24/hrs. We do activate the systems when the university is closed for extended periods such as Christmas break. Of course, there are fire alarms in all of the buildings we’re discussing as well.

Waterloo Watchmen:
You’ve been incredibly helpful so far; thank you for sharing all of this with us. To wrap things up, can we ask you how you feel about the current reliance on technology for surveillance?

Sergeant Goss:
Certainly. I think that across police departments there is a significant movement back toward a more personal level of police work. Police officers notice a real difference in their communities when they involve themselves in “beat” work—hitting the pavement and actually interacting with the public—as opposed to simply driving around in circles in their cars. Our patrols could easily just drive around and around ring road—but we want to offer our services on a community level. We want to be useful and we want to be involved. A lot of cops want to be out there chasing bikers and drug lords, but what people are actually worried about is petty crime. And I think we need to get out there and talk to people to find out what we can do for them. I would say that’s the direction that policing leadership in Ontario is moving in.

Waterloo Watchmen:
Would it be fair to say then that you’ve noticed two distinct approaches to police work? One that takes a more distanced approach and relies on technology (such as cars, cameras, etc.) and one that is more interactive and relies on direct communication with the public? Do officers openly discuss these models?

Sergeant Goss:
There is a lot of discussion in police circles regarding the “symptoms” approach to police work—an angle that focuses on social symptoms (such as individual instances of crime) rather than looking at the broader picture. I think mistakes have been made in this area and that its necessary to see criminal acts as sociological phenomenon. In understanding why crime happens, information is critical, and technology offers us some fantastic opportunities in this regard; but we can’t replace officers with servers and you can’t replace the intuition of a man or woman familiar with a space with the lens of a camera. We need to address the roots of these problems. Unfortunately police just do not have the resources to totally address these issues, there has to be collaboration between other agencies that can help deal with these larger societal problems. I certainly see two different methods in play, but I think we’re moving toward combining these methods to be a more effective public service.

Waterloo Watchmen:
Thank you so much for your time Sergeant Goss. You’ve been incredibly helpful.

Sergeant Goss:
It’s been my pleasure. Let me know if there’s anything more I can do for you.