Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, flanked by Police Superindendent Larry Akers and Superintendent of Schools Sonia Dinnall, addresses a hoax threat made against Springfield Public Day Elementary School in October 2024. In-school cameras were used to determine a report of an active shooter was false.
Reminder Publishing file photo
SPRINGFIELD — The recently-approved memorandum of understanding regarding access to school cameras can now be accessed by the public on the Springfield Public Schools website.
The new five-year agreement between the Police Department and School Department, which was approved by the School Committee during its March 13 meeting, delineates protocol about who can access interior and exterior surveillance cameras across Springfield Public Schools, along with when and how the cameras can be accessed.
In a previous subcommittee meeting, Ian Keefe, a local attorney representing the School Committee, said that the updated five-year MOU does not change the practice of this previous iteration, but it is more “transparent” and “user-friendly.”
“The purpose of the changes here were not made to change any actual current practice and there were no issues raised with the current practice,” Keefe said at the time. “The issues really were understanding what the contract said and making sure that captured what was going on, and I believe this updated revision captures the actual current practice between the schools and the Police Department.”
The specifics of the new MOU
The new five-year MOU is much more specific than the previous three-year one that was implemented in 2021. Whereas the prior agreement ran four pages long, the new one is six pages and includes a “definitions” section as well as a clearer segment for “General Principles.”
It also specifically states where the exterior and interior cameras are located across Springfield Public Schools and better clarifies when and how the cameras can be accessed.
“This Memorandum of Understanding (‘MOU’) establishes the exclusive terms under which the SPD may access and use video images from SPS security cameras to respond to public safety emergencies and for bona fide law enforcement purposes,” the new MOU states. “The access is intended to enhance the safety and security of students, staff and the broader community.”
The five-year MOU states that only civilian SPD Real Time Crime Analysis staff and SPD video analysts can access live and stored video images on exterior cameras for “bona fide law enforcement purposes only, including during a public safety emergency.”
Civilian SPD RTCA staff are also the only ones allowed to access live feed of the interior cameras and for the sole purpose of responding to a public safety emergency, according to the MOU.
If a public emergency does happen, the SPD RTCA supervisor or SPD designee responsible for coordinating police response must notify the SPS superintendent, SPS director of safety and security, or the SPS Superintendent’s designee, that the cameras were accessed by SPD.
In addition to the public emergency situations, the new MOU also clearly identifies who can access the cameras during non-emergencies and when that may occur.
“SPD video analysts may access stored video images from SPS interior security cameras as part of a non-emergency law enforcement investigation provided only that SPD receives prior approval from the SPS Superintendent, SPS director of safety and security, or the SPS Superintendent’s designee, to view such interior camera data,” the new MOU states.
RTCA staff, SPD video analyst, and/or SPD officers and supervisors must also receive prior approval to access the interior cameras for law enforcement training, which the MOU states will only occur when students are absent from the school buildings.
Readers can learn more about the new agreement by visiting it on the SPS website at tinyurl.com/ycy762ds. Aside from information about access, the MOU also includes more specific information around data retention.
