Five months after Lafayette College Public Safety recorded 76 counts of retail theft in a Simon’s Market power outage raid, new surveillance cameras and entry gates have been installed throughout the on-campus grab-and-go automated store.

The security company Unlimited Technologies, contracted with Public Safety, recently installed three cameras covering the market, according to Director of Public Safety Jeff Troxell.

Troxell said the cameras were “high definition” and produce “very clear images.” Public Safety previously installed temporary Ring cameras inside following the November thefts, which primarily occurred during and shortly after a power outage on Halloween. 

“If the door malfunctions, we can get reports with regards to that,” said Troxell, adding that cameras primarily serve to review footage to determine if anything was taken from the store illegally. 

Additional security changes included new entrance and exit gates, installed by Amazon at no cost to the college, according to Geoff Labe, the college’s assistant vice president of operations. 

The new gates are taller, designed to prevent visitors from entering the store without scanning a credit, debit or Lafayette ID card.

Benjamin Morris ‘28, who tends to stop at Simon’s twice a week, said he accidentally triggered a gate alarm and witnessed the exit gate open without pressing the button.

Meanwhile, additional counts of theft in November — discovered during recent investigations, according to Troxell — raised the total of Simon’s retail thefts to at least 100 for the 2025-26 academic year, according to crime log data. Troxell said many of the thefts are still under investigation. 

“We might get additional leads at that point and follow up,” Troxell said.

An Amazon media representative and representatives from “Just Walk Out” Technology did not respond to requests for comment.

Makenna McCall ‘27 contributed reporting.

Disclaimer: Assistant Design Director Benjamin Morris ‘28 did not contribute writing or reporting.