TCC board buys nearly $2M in security cameras. Here’s what measures are being put in place

Tarrant County College is upgrading its security system districtwide. 

Board members approved with a 6-0 vote on May 15 up to $1.87 million to purchase 1,075 security cameras for use across the district. Board member Teresa Ayala was not at the May 15 meeting. The community college system includes six campuses. 

The purchase of the cameras is part of the community college’s security master plan that was developed in consultation with Triad Consulting. The master plan found servers were outdated and at the end-of-life. Servers were recommended to be replaced, along with nonfunctioning and end-of-life cameras, according to board documents. 

“Today we’re coming back to you and asking for the next piece of the security camera plan, and that would be to purchase an additional 1,075 (cameras) that will go into and replace the older cameras that are at end-of-life,” said Pamela Anglin, the college’s chief financial officer, in a presentation to the board on May 8. 

Officials did not mention on-campus security concerns at the board meetings. 

However, significant on-campus crimes have occured at TCC campuses, according to the Tarrant County College District 2024 Annual Security Report that logs crimes for 2021, 2022 and 2023. They include:  

Seven reported rapes at the Trinity River Campus in downtown

Six motor vehicle thefts at the Northwest Campus

Five aggravated assaults across TCC campuses

As of now, 285 access cameras have been purchased and are being installed to replace ones no longer functioning. New servers have been purchased and installed across the district, Anglin said. 

The additional cameras will replace units at the end of their lives, according to board documents. These cameras will come with three-year warranties.

In March, the board also approved an additional one-year contract extension with Allied Universal to provide armed security services at a cost not to exceed $1.58 million. The guards will help provide overnight security coverage at the college with coverage from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The armed security guards were first hired to fill employment gaps during the pandemic. The contract expires March 31, 2026.

Trustee Shannon Wood was the only board member to vote against the proposal.

“Having security guards that are armed without police training is opening up the college to litigation in public and a public publicity nightmare,” Wood said at the March 13 board meeting.“I believe our TCC funds could be better utilized by using our own trained TCC police officers. Having a campus police department and a contracted security guard company makes no sense to me whatsoever.”

Trustee Kenneth Barr, who recently completed his term and did not run for reelection, raised concerns about the training process for the officers.

A next step in the security plan is to choose and approve a contractor to install the 1,000-plus cameras.

Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with Open Campus. Contact her at [email protected].

The Report’s higher education coverage is supported in part by major higher education institutions in Tarrant County, including Tarleton State University, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M-Fort Worth, Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington and UNT Health Science Center.

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