Green Hill High School to take part in LPR camera pilot program

Yahoo

26-04-2025

WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Wilson County authorities are expanding their license plate recognition system to school grounds.
On Thursday, April 24, the Wilson County School Board approved a contract to allow cameras at Green Hill High School to serve as LPRs.
'These systems are no strangers to the law enforcement that we have here in Wilson County,' Bart Barker, public information officer for Wilson County Schools, said.
Law enforcement in Mt. Juliet and Lebanon frequently post about catching suspected criminals through their LPR systems. Now, Wilson County officials are expanding their eyes in the sky.
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'The sheriff's office reached out to us. Currently, there are some cameras that have the technology available at Green Hill High School to activate the license plate reader system,' said Barker.
The school board's unanimous decision Thursday night will allow the Wilson County Sheriff's Office to access three cameras at Green Hill High that have the ability to serve as LPRs.
'It's free to us for now. We're in a pilot program to see how it goes, to see if down the road we would want to incorporate this at other schools across the district,' Barker said.
According to Barker, LPRS aren't just an extra tool for law enforcement, but an extra layer of protection for the school.
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'What kind of traffic is passing by our schools? And would it be flagged in a busy road like Lebanon Road near the heart of Mt. Juliet, or maybe a vehicle coming on campus that flags law enforcement and alerts them,' said Barker.
Barker described this as another way the district is being proactive when it comes to safety, in addition to school resource officers and weapon detection systems. There is also potential to expand the program to other schools in Wilson County.
'This is that next step in terms of exploration of what it could look like down the road. Nothing is guaranteed, but at least to explore what this would look like and how beneficial it could be,' Barker said.
According to Barker, the hope is to have the program running by the end of the school year.
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