For many years, Gil Lynn Park has been used by students from Dayton High School and Lincoln Elementary. In the wake of multiple instances of vandalism involving the park grounds and bathrooms, however, local residents have become increasingly concerned about the well-being of the much-loved public space.
“This is our property at Gil Lynn Park, and we’ve got to protect it,” Mayor Ben Baker said at Tuesday night’s city council meeting, where a unanimous decision was made to allow the school district to utilize security camera footage from the park.
It was noted that the agreement was mutually beneficial, as city law enforcement officers — including the schools’ SRO officer — have had access to cameras inside the schools since 2014.
Council member Tarris Horton said that he hopes the agreement will allow school officials to review footage and identify students engaged in vandalism who are more in need of social services than a police response.
Others were more skeptical of the approach.
“I feel like we keep increasing all these police cameras. When I was a kid, there was privacy and anonymity, in a sense that no kid now would ever have, anywhere,” said council member Beth Nyman.
“But I know when they trash the bathrooms, right away, you’re like ‘Where was the camera?’,” she added, agreeing that the footage captured is a powerful tool when it comes to understanding the way an event occurred.
Christian Naberhaus, a local resident, advised the council, “One of the ways to handle those kinds of concerns is a clear policy about the use of the film, and a clear retention policy.”
According to Police Chief David Halfhill, videos captured are retained by the Dayton Independent School District for a week.