Rutgers University paid at least $1.5 million over the summer of 2026 for Avigilon surveillance analytics that can recognize faces, read license plates and track a person or car across a camera network, according to procurement records NJ.com obtained. The university did not announce the purchase, and it did not go to the Board of Governors, whose approval Rutgers says was not required. Rutgers says it has tested facial recognition but "has not used [it] as an investigative tool," and that the new analytics are being tested to improve public safety. An ACLU of New Jersey attorney warned of "surveillance creep." The report names no person harmed; the concern raised is the system's reach over anyone on campus.