Safety and Security are able to track students' movement through the use of their Dartmouth identification cards, according to Harry Kinne, College proctor and director of Safety and Security. A database, which stores information regarding when students enter College residence halls, has, in some cases, aided the police in a few cases concerning campus safety.
Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said he could recall roughly six incidents in the past year in which the police used the database in an investigation. He said it had been helpful in a sexual assault case.
"Anything like that helps us provide a timeline," he said.
In one case, a student fleeing a Hanover Police officer after rushing the field at the Homecoming football game escaped into a residence hall. The pursuing officer was unable to enter the building because he did not have a card. By reviewing the access log for the building, Safety and Security and Hanover Police identified and later apprehended the student.
The information in the database is not available to the Hanover Police unless they subpoena the College for the data or obtain a search warrant. As a result, Safety and Security and the Hanover Police Department rarely use the database, Kinne said.
"We don't track students by any means," he said. "That would take a lot of time and effort, and it just isn't something we're interested in doing."
Kinne said the database is cumbersome, and his officers use it only for important investigations.
"It would have to be something serious," he said. "We don't go in to the database for just anything."
Since Safety and Security does not use cameras to monitor students' access to residence halls, there is also no guarantee that the student using the card is the cardholder.
"It doesn't point us to who did it," Kinne said. "It just points us to who was in the area at the time."
Safety and Security maintains surveillance over Novack Cafe with security cameras because the area is open 24 hours, Kinne said. As mandated by state law, the office notifies students that the area is monitored via a sign on the wall in Novack. The the Native American House and the statues in front of McNutt Hall are also under video surveillance to ensure their physical security. There is no visible sign in front of either building noting that the area is under surveillance.
Kinne said he would like to install a camera in A-Lot, as the remote location of the parking area is difficult for Safety and Security officers to patrol.
Neither BlitzMail login information nor public computers are monitored by Safety and Security, Kinne said.
