School District Installs Updated School Cameras
KALISPELL, MT — On 14 December 2021, the Kalispell School District Board passed the motion for a high school camera project, as well as an elementary school project. Thus upgrading existing cameras where blindspots possibly exist and upgrading existing equipment.
The Montana Daily Gazette reported that these were “facial recognition” cameras and that “these cameras [on the west side] even peer into the nearby neighboring homes.” The News Team at the Gazette released a story detailing that Superintendent Micah Hill “instituted the installment of high-tech facial recognition ‘artificial intelligence’ cameras. These cameras were purchased via a school bond and were made in Korea.”
This is only partially accurate.
What the Cameras Are
Hanwha’s manufacturing offices are located in Vietnam and South Korea. Due to their location, they are compliant with the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA went into effect in August 2019, according to their website. This Act prohibits the use of certain vendors owned by other countries, specifically five Chinese-owned companies. Hanwha is headquartered in South Korea and has a US headquarters in New Jersey.
These cameras from Hanwha Techwin America do have artificial intelligence and their facial recognition capabilities are simply that. According to their website, “by being able to distinguish vehicles and humans from other objects, Wisenet cameras equipped with edge-based AI analytics reduce the occurrence of false alarms derived from the use of motion detection while increasing operational efficiencies in forensic review.”
In other words, these cameras are meant to differentiate between people, cars, and other objects. This produces a clearer image of the recording.
What the Cameras Are Not
According to a document from the board meeting, 16 indoor and five outdoor cameras were installed at Flathead High School. In the Agricultural Education Center, three outdoor cameras and five indoor cameras were installed. One lens was added to the already “existing multi-view camera.”
Linderman Education Center also had two indoor cameras installed, as well as one relocated. One outdoor camera was installed at Edgerton Elementary School and a lens was adjusted on their multi-view camera.
These cameras are in place to better protect the schools and students which are overseen by Micah Hill and the assistant superintendents. Facial recognition on the level that identifies a person’s actual identity is so astronomically expensive that school districts would never be able to purchase the technology.
