You Are Being Watched. Do you know it?
Nearly 600 surveillance cameras watch Elon's campus. Most students have no idea.
Two men with cable cutters slipped into Mill Point in the early morning hours. Within minutes, they had what they came for: two bikes, one of them belonging to J.P. Labbe, a senior at Elon University.
The thieves were thorough. They drove the bikes to Winston-Salem and repainted them. On paper, the trail was cold. Labbe's bike wasn't caught on camera at the moment of the theft. Over the following weeks, Elon Campus Safety and Police pieced together a picture from camera feeds across campus until they had found who it was and tracked the bikes to Winston-Salem. The bikes were returned.
Labbe's story ended well. But it raised a question that turns out to have a surprising answer: just how much is Elon watching?
How many surveillance cameras do you think Elon uses?
Take a guess before reading on.
The answer is D
Elon operates more than 500 high-definition security cameras, plus 14 license plate readers, covering roads, walkways, parking lots, and buildings across campus.
Source: Elon University
By the numbers
The cameras are positioned along roads and walkways, in parking lots, and inside buildings. Access to footage is limited to campus police officers, who may share it with other law enforcement agencies during criminal investigations. The university says footage is only reviewed in response to specific incidents, not monitored in real time on a general basis.
How we got here
A timeline of surveillance at Elon
Tap each entry to expand
Early 2000s
First cameras installed in parking lots
Elon begins installing security cameras, starting with campus parking lots. The rollout is met with concern from some community members who worry about being constantly watched.
Source: Elon University
2012
Dennis Franks becomes chief
Dennis Franks joins Elon as Director of Campus Safety and Police, bringing experience with in-car dashboard cameras from his prior law enforcement career. He oversees significant expansion of the surveillance network.
Source: Tommy Hamzik
Late 2013
Body cameras purchased
Elon campus police purchase their first body cameras. Officers undergo a training period before the cameras are put into use. The department acquires four cameras to be checked out by officers each shift.
Source: Tommy Hamzik
August 2014
Body cameras go live
Body cameras are fully launched at the start of the 2014-2015 school year. They are designed to provide impartial records of officer encounters and can be used to validate or disprove complaints made against police.
Source: Tommy Hamzik
2015
500+ HD cameras across campus
By September 2015, Elon has installed nearly 550 high-definition cameras covering roads, walkways, parking lots, and buildings. The system also includes 14 license plate readers capable of running tags through state databases. Elon is named one of the "50 Safest College Towns in America" by SafeWise.
Source: Elon University
2015
Meditation garden camera added
After vandalism at the meditation garden next to the Numen Lumen Pavilion -- where someone pushed the Kugel ball off its fountain -- Elon adds a camera to the previously unmonitored space. The incident prompts a review of coverage gaps on campus.
Source: Elon University
February 2023
AI surveillance enters the conversation
Then-Chief Joe LeMire attends a North Carolina campus law enforcement conference where AI surveillance software is discussed. He says Elon has no current plans to implement AI tools but acknowledges other campuses are adopting them. He notes AI-assisted vehicle tracking as potentially more useful than social media monitoring.
Source: Elon News Network
April 2026
Surveillance used in assault arrest
Following an assault in the Mill Point neighborhood involving a gun, campus police use their surveillance network as part of an investigation that leads to the arrest of Antonio Burns of Gibsonville within four days. Burns faces multiple charges including felony possession of a firearm on educational property.
Source: Elon News Network
Dr. Evan Small, a professor at Elon University specializing in student wellness and social justice, sees both sides of the story.
"There's a line between safety and surveillance." Small said. "For the most part, at least from my perspective, it tends to lean more on the safety side."
Small points to the physical design of campus as itself a form of control — the layout of buildings, the placement of open spaces — that shapes how students move and are seen. But when it comes to cameras specifically, his verdict is nuanced.
He notes that Elon's designated protest site, Speaker's Corner, does not have a camera directly on it. A camera on an upper floor of a nearby building looks out over the area, but Small says he finds that acceptable given that the campus is open to the public.
Elon does not currently use facial recognition or AI-driven video analytics. But the direction of travel nationally is clear, and administrators here are watching it.
Body cameras
Body cameras are worn by all campus police officers, recording encounters as impartial eyewitness accounts.
Dashboard cameras
Dashboard cameras in patrol vehicles can validate or disprove allegations made against officers.
License plate readers
License plate readers (14 cameras) can run tags through state databases in real time, a capability the university says is not currently activated.
AI video analytics
AI video analytics, software that tracks people, vehicles, and behavior, is in use at several large North Carolina universities. Elon campus police are aware of the technology and evaluating its potential use for safety. Facial recognition is not currently planned.
Nikki Guevara, a resident adviser in Elon's Danieley neighborhood, knows the residential side of this equation firsthand.
Guevara notes that surveillance inside residential buildings is not standard practice across campus. One notable exception: Smith Hall, which is also the only all-male dormitory on Elon's campus.
Paul Tongsri, Assistant Dean for Student Success and Retention, emphasized the protective value of the system when he sat down to talk about surveillance on campus.
VIDEO WILL BE INSERTED
In April, the limits and capabilities of Elon's surveillance network were tested again, this time in more serious circumstances. Shortly after 2:30 a.m. on April 5, a man not affiliated with the university assaulted a student in the Mill Point neighborhood, allegedly at gunpoint. An E-Alert went out. Campus was on edge.
Four days later, campus police announced an arrest. Antonio Burns of Gibsonville was taken into custody with assistance from the Gibsonville Police Department. He faces charges of felony possession of a firearm on educational property, misdemeanor assault on a female, misdemeanor sexual battery, and misdemeanor false imprisonment, all stemming from the same incident.
Elon University Police Department's public record of the incident at Millpoint neighborhood. Photo taken by Erin Hroncich.
The speed of the arrest, less than five days, reflected exactly the kind of investigative work campus police say their camera network enables: tracking movement, identifying vehicles, coordinating with outside agencies.
Elon Campus Safety and Police did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the scope of the surveillance system and its policies.
For many students, the full scope of the surveillance system is not something they think about day to day. Cameras positioned along walkways and near building entrances blend into the physical environment of campus.
For Labbe, the experience of having his bike stolen and later recovered changed that. The same network that had a gap the night the bikes were taken ultimately produced enough evidence to track them down.
Built with Shorthand