Emergency Preparedness

A. No. The University's video security system monitors public spaces to support campus safety, security, crime prevention, emergency response, and event management. Cameras are directed toward locations where individuals do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy and are used to observe public areas rather than conduct routine surveillance of specific individuals or activities.

Camera footage may be reviewed when necessary to investigate criminal activity, address safety concerns, support emergency response efforts, protect university property, or assist with other legitimate operational or law enforcement purposes.

A. No. In accordance with Montana law and University policy, the University's video security system does not use facial recognition technology for the automated identification, verification, tracking, or profiling of individuals.

Facial recognition capabilities are disabled at the system level and are not available to users of the University's video management system. The University does not collect, analyze, compare, or store biometric facial data for identification purposes, nor does it maintain databases of facial biometric identifiers.

Security cameras are used to monitor public spaces for safety, security, operational, and law enforcement purposes, but are not used to identify individuals through facial recognition. Any future implementation of facial recognition technology would require appropriate legal authorization and compliance with applicable Montana law, University policies, and privacy requirements.

A. No. The University does not use automated License Plate Reader (LPR) technology for the routine collection, scanning, analysis, or tracking of vehicle license plate information on campus. University-owned security cameras are not configured to perform automated license plate recognition, create vehicle movement databases, or generate alerts based on vehicle license plate information.

LPR functionality is disabled within the University's video management system and is not available to camera system users. Security cameras are used for public safety, emergency response, criminal investigations, event management, and operational awareness in public areas, but are not used to systematically identify or track vehicles through automated license plate recognition technology.

An exception applies to authorized parking enforcement operations when the use of license plate recognition technology is expressly permitted under Montana law and University policy for parking management, permit verification, enforcement of parking regulations, or other authorized parking functions. Any such use must be limited to its authorized purpose and conducted in accordance with applicable legal, operational, retention, and privacy requirements.

Any future deployment of LPR technology beyond authorized parking enforcement functions would require approval by University leadership and compliance with applicable laws, University policies, and privacy requirements.

A. The University's video management system includes attribute search capabilities that allow authorized users to locate recorded video based on observable characteristics captured in footage.

Examples include:

• Clothing color (e.g., red shirt, blue jacket)
• Vehicle color or general vehicle type
• Object type (e.g., backpack, bicycle)
• Time and camera location

Attribute searches do not identify, verify, recognize, or determine the identity of a specific person. Instead, they help investigators locate video footage that may be relevant to an incident by filtering recordings based on visible characteristics and contextual information. For example, if a report describes a person wearing a red jacket leaving a building at a specific time, attribute search may assist in locating recordings matching that description. The technology does not determine who the person is, compare the person's appearance against a database, or create biometric profiles.

By contrast, facial recognition technology analyzes biometric facial characteristics to identify or verify a person's identity. The University does not use facial recognition technology, and facial recognition capabilities are disabled within the University's video management system.

A. No. The University of Montana does not use security cameras to identify, monitor, or track individuals who are engaged in lawful activities, including constitutionally protected speech, assembly, association, academic pursuits, demonstrations, or other lawful campus events.
Security cameras are deployed to enhance safety, provide situational awareness, support emergency response, protect persons and property, and assist in the investigation of criminal activity or policy violations.

The purpose of the camera system is to help safeguard members of the campus community as they engage in lawful activities by providing a safer environment, supporting emergency management, and facilitating the timely response to threats, hazards, or criminal conduct.
The University's video security system is intended to protect those participating in lawful activities, not to deter, monitor, or interfere with the exercise of lawful rights and freedoms.

A. No. The University's video security system is configured to record video only. Audio recording capabilities are disabled at the system level on all University-owned security cameras and within the video management system. Users do not have the ability to enable, access, or utilize audio recording functions as part of the normal operation of the system.

The University does not use its security camera system to monitor, intercept, record, or retain private conversations, oral communications, or other audio information. Security cameras are deployed for visual observation of public areas to support campus safety, security, emergency response, criminal investigations, and event management, not for the collection of audio communications.

Any future use of audio recording capabilities would require authorization by University leadership and compliance with applicable federal and state laws, University policies, and privacy requirements.

A. Vendor access to the University's video security system is restricted and controlled. Vendors are not provided with continuous, unrestricted, or persistent access to the University's camera network, video management system, or stored video data.

Remote access by a vendor may be granted only at the request of authorized University personnel for a specific maintenance, troubleshooting, support, or system configuration purpose. Any such access is limited to the systems and functions necessary to complete the requested work and only for the duration required to perform the authorized task. Upon completion of the support activity, vendor access is terminated or disabled.

Vendor activity is logged and audited. Vendors are prohibited from accessing, viewing, retrieving, copying, disclosing, or retaining University video data except as necessary to perform a specifically authorized support function. All access requests must be approved and managed by authorized University personnel and must comply with applicable University policies, contractual requirements, cybersecurity standards, and privacy protections.

The University maintains administrative control over all vendor access and reserves the right to monitor, restrict, suspend, or revoke such access at any time.

A. The University of Montana's video monitoring system operates as a standalone security platform and is not integrated with external databases or automated identification systems. The system does not automatically access, query, compare, correlate, or exchange information with criminal justice databases, student information systems, human resources databases, access control credential databases, motor vehicle records, facial recognition databases, license plate reader databases, social media platforms, or other third-party data repositories.

Video recordings and camera feeds are used for safety, security, emergency response, operational awareness, and authorized investigative purposes. The system is designed to capture and manage video data only and does not perform automated identity matching, data mining, predictive analytics, or the cross-referencing of individuals against external data sources.

Any future integration between the video security system and another database, information system, or automated identification technology would require approval through established University governance processes, compliance with applicable laws and policies, and a documented review of privacy, cybersecurity, operational, and legal considerations.

The University is committed to maintaining appropriate separation between its video security system and other institutional data systems to protect privacy, minimize unnecessary data collection, and ensure that information is used only for legitimate and authorized purposes.

A. Security camera footage is retained for 30 days and is then automatically deleted as part of the system's routine operation. Video recordings may be retained beyond 30 days when necessary for a specific legal, investigative, regulatory, administrative, public safety, or law enforcement purpose.

The authority to preserve video footage beyond the standard retention period is limited to designated University officials. Requests to preserve footage must be based on a legitimate University, public safety, investigative, legal, or regulatory need.

Any footage preserved beyond the standard retention period will be retained only for as long as necessary to satisfy the applicable purpose and will be managed in accordance with applicable laws, University policies, and records management requirements.

A. The University's video security system is administered and managed by the University using the Verkada video management platform. Video data, system administration, user access, retention practices, and security settings are governed by University policies and procedures and are managed by authorized University personnel.

The system operates independently of federal government cloud environments, federal law enforcement systems, and federal defense information frameworks. It is not integrated with external government surveillance systems, and oversight of the system, including user access, data management, retention, and privacy protections, remains under the control of the University.

The University maintains administrative control over system access and video data and is responsible for ensuring that the system is operated in accordance with applicable laws, privacy requirements, cybersecurity standards, and institutional policies.

A. Access to live and recorded video is limited to authorized personnel with a legitimate operational, safety, security, administrative, or investigative need. Access permissions are assigned based on job responsibilities and are restricted to the specific cameras or camera groups necessary to perform an individual's authorized duties.

For example, when a University department manages facilities equipped with security cameras, a limited number of designated personnel from that department may be granted access to view live and recorded footage from those cameras. These users are provided viewing privileges only and are not authorized to modify system settings, camera configurations, retention schedules, or user permissions.

The Security, Safety and Technology Oversight Group (SSTOG) serves as the University's camera system management group and is responsible for the overall administration, security, configuration, auditing, and management of the video management system. Access to video footage is subject to periodic review and may be modified or revoked when no longer required for authorized University business.

A. The University may share video recordings or live video depicting public areas with law enforcement agencies, governmental entities, emergency response organizations, regulatory agencies, insurers, or other authorized parties when there is a legitimate public safety, security, investigative, legal, regulatory, administrative, or operational need.

Video may be disclosed in response to criminal investigations, emergency incidents, court orders, subpoenas, public records requests, legal proceedings, insurance matters, mutual aid operations, or other circumstances authorized by law or University policy. Requests for disclosure are reviewed by University Legal Counsel, in consultation with appropriate University officials, to ensure that any release is lawful, serves a legitimate purpose, and complies with applicable privacy, records retention, and security requirements.

The University reserves the right to deny, limit, or condition the release of video when disclosure is prohibited by law, could compromise an ongoing investigation, would create a safety or security risk, or is otherwise inconsistent with the University's legal obligations or institutional interests.

The disclosure of video footage does not transfer ownership of the recording to the recipient. Individuals or organizations receiving video from the University may be subject to restrictions regarding its use, retention, disclosure, or further dissemination as required by law, court order, agreement, or University policy.

A. The University recognizes that advances in artificial intelligence and video analytics may provide additional tools to enhance campus safety, improve emergency response, and support the protection of people and property. As these technologies evolve, future capabilities may assist authorized personnel in more rapidly identifying potential safety concerns, locating critical information during emergencies, improving situational awareness at large events, detecting hazards, and supporting authorized investigative efforts.

Any future deployment of artificial intelligence or advanced analytic capabilities will be evaluated based on operational necessity, effectiveness, legal compliance, cybersecurity requirements, privacy implications, and alignment with the University's mission and values. The University will prioritize technologies that enhance public safety while protecting individual privacy, civil liberties, and the rights of members of the campus community.

The University will not implement biometric identification technologies, facial recognition systems, or other restricted capabilities unless specifically authorized by applicable law and approved through appropriate University governance and review processes. Any future artificial intelligence tools will remain subject to human oversight and will be used to support, rather than replace, professional decision-making by authorized personnel.

The University is committed to transparency regarding the use of emerging security technologies and will continue to evaluate new capabilities that can improve campus safety while maintaining appropriate safeguards, accountability, privacy protections, and public trust.

A. Some University security cameras are Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras that utilize a feature known as Sentry Mode when they are not being actively controlled for event management, emergency response, or other authorized operational purposes. Sentry Mode automatically directs the camera to monitor predetermined areas according to established schedules and patrol patterns, helping provide consistent coverage of areas of security interest.

When not under operator control, a PTZ camera will automatically return to its configured Sentry Mode settings and continue monitoring its designated locations.

Sentry Mode does not identify individuals, perform facial recognition, analyze biometric information, or determine the intent of persons present. Rather, it functions as an automated camera patrol that provides visual monitoring of predefined areas. Any observations or incidents identified through Sentry Mode are reviewed and assessed by authorized University personnel, and any response is based on human evaluation of the circumstances.

The use of Sentry Mode is intended to enhance situational awareness, support timely responses to potential concerns, and assist in protecting people, property, and facilities while respecting privacy, civil liberties, and applicable legal requirements.