A magnetic resonance imaging location surveillance system for determining access to an MR room containing an MRI device which includes a main magnet, the surveillance system comprising: - multiple physical zones (20, 70) through which persons and objects flow when approaching the MR room's entrance, in which - each zone includes at least one video camera positioned to view the flow of persons and objects through the zone toward the entrance of the MR room and of which at least one video camera is positioned to view the entrance to the MR room to image objects and/or persons approaching the entrance in that each imaged object and each imaged person is tracked through each zone,; - the multiple zones include a first zone most distal to the entrance, a next zone more proximal to the entrance and a narrowed most proximal zone at the entrance, - a recognize unit in communication with the at least one video camera which receives the images of the objects and/or persons, and recognizes each imaged object and each imaged person; - a classify unit which classifies each recognized object and/or each recognized person according to MRI safety and reclassifies each recognized person based on behavior; and - an authorize unit which determines access to the room containing the MRI device based on each classified object and/or each classified person, and the authorize unit is provided with visual and/or audio indicators in the next zone that indicates the presence of MR unsafe objects to the persons flowing through the room and the surveillance system, further including - at least one ferrous metal detector in the narrowed most proximal zone at the entrance to detect ferrous metals which pass through a scanned location and the classify unit receives a signal from the ferrous metal detector corresponding to the imaged object or person which passed through the scanned location indicated of detected ferrous metal, and evaluates the received signal from the ferrous metal detector to classify the imaged object or person which passed through the scanned location. - multiple physical zones (20, 70) through which persons and objects flow when approaching the MR room's entrance, in which - each zone includes at least one video camera positioned to view the flow of persons and objects through the zone toward the entrance of the MR room and of which at least one video camera is positioned to view the entrance to the MR room to image objects and/or persons approaching the entrance in that each imaged object and each imaged person is tracked through each zone,; - the multiple zones include a first zone most distal to the entrance, a next zone more proximal to the entrance and a narrowed most proximal zone at the entrance, - each zone includes at least one video camera positioned to view the flow of persons and objects through the zone toward the entrance of the MR room and of which at least one video camera is positioned to view the entrance to the MR room to image objects and/or persons approaching the entrance in that each imaged object and each imaged person is tracked through each zone,; - the multiple zones include a first zone most distal to the entrance, a next zone more proximal to the entrance and a narrowed most proximal zone at the entrance, - a recognize unit in communication with the at least one video camera which receives the images of the objects and/or persons, and recognizes each imaged object and each imaged person; - a classify unit which classifies each recognized object and/or each recognized person according to MRI safety and reclassifies each recognized person based on behavior; and - an authorize unit which determines access to the room containing the MRI device based on each classified object and/or each classified person, and the authorize unit is provided with visual and/or audio indicators in the next zone that indicates the presence of MR unsafe objects to the persons flowing through the room and the surveillance system, further including - at least one ferrous metal detector in the narrowed most proximal zone at the entrance to detect ferrous metals which pass through a scanned location and the classify unit receives a signal from the ferrous metal detector corresponding to the imaged object or person which passed through the scanned location indicated of detected ferrous metal, and evaluates the received signal from the ferrous metal detector to classify the imaged object or person which passed through the scanned location.