A federal grant, matched by the Pelham Police Department, will enable surveillance cameras to be installed at Pelham High School.

The cameras, which will monitor the school’s perimeter, are capable of taking high-resolution pictures, Police Chief Joseph Roark told Pelham School Board members during their Wednesday, Nov. 14, meeting.

“If you have an incident and review it, you can really zoom in because the quality of the resolution is so high,” Roark said.

The School Board voted to approve the cameras. The police have received a $17,400 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice and will match it so there is no cost to the school district. The grant was sought by officer Michael Marshall, the Police Department’s school resource officer.

The surveillance system would belong to the school but when incidents occur, the police would ask administrators to share video with them, Roark said.

He said he hopes the cameras will help combat vandalism, trespassing and other problems. In the past, he said, windows have been damaged by rocks and BB guns. There have also been problems in the school’s parking lot during football games and incidents of bullying.

The cost of the camera system is $22,000.

Roark plans to spend $12,000 to pay a security consultant to create a video survey of the town’s schools. That information could be used by emergency workers, hazardous material teams, police officers, and SWAT teams responding to emergencies and other serious incidents, according to Roark.