SHADY COVE, Ore. — The Jackson County sheriff has pulled the plug on a program to keep real-time video surveillance inside an elementary school in Shady Cove.
The $278,300 surveillance system installed in 2013 inside one of the counties smallest schools will no longer be used, The Mail Tribune reports. Sheriff Corey Falls, who took over in 2014, has not renewed the department’s annual contract with the systems’ designer.
Falls says well-trained first responders near schools are a better use of resources, especially as deputies can be at lots of schools, not just Shady Cove.
“We have around 20 schools that we’re responsible for in unincorporated Jackson County,” Falls said. “It’s important to keep all those schools safe.”
The county commissioners this week renewed a $426,836 contract with the city of Shady Cove to provide law enforcement services through June 30, 2016.
Former sheriff Mike Winters said last week he stands by his decision to use the systems, which was created by Future Concepts. He said the systems were purchased within budget.
“The more systems you can use to save manpower — that’s the direction you need to go,” Winters said.
The NEXARsos system was installed in 2013 and equipped Shady Cove elementary and middle school classrooms with security cameras and a bright red “Emergency” button to alert law enforcement of an incident such as a school shooter. The surveillance system used 22 TVs and five, four-monitor computer workstations in the sheriff’s department to monitor video feeds from inside the school.
Falls said he has prioritized making sure a trained deputy is nearby over surveillance technology.
“We went from having a community service officer to a sworn officer, which is another resource for that community,” Falls said.
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