While I was an undergraduate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, security cameras were installed outside, pointed at certain locations. The most vehemently opposed by students was the camera at the Southwest dormitories, overlooking a favorite location for riots. People would get together to cause general mayhem following Patriots wins, Yankees losses, and power outages, to name a few examples. A friend of mine living in the area once called the aftermath of such a riot “like a post-apocalyptic wasteland.”
It’s unclear to me how often, if ever, these cameras get used to make charges. All the articles I’m finding about a somewhat recent riot indicate that charges were made against several students, and that security camera footage may be used.
According to UMass’s Daily Collegian, however, footage posted by students to YouTube was actually used by UMass Police “to identify suspects involved in the riot.”