Video Surveillance in High Schools: Modern Technology against Bullying
Bullying affects students across the nation. In fact, bullying is one of the reasons many high school students drop out of school. While it is virtually impossible to have school teachers and administrators check the school grounds and monitor every day, something more efficient can be done –monitor every nook and cranny of the school via a reliable network of systems. Having a video surveillance system in place helps secure high schools no matter how big the area is.
For large schools, there are monitoring tools that are connected over IP and thus, sending data to a central database where a school official can monitor key places in the school. From there, the school monitor can inform school officials if a student is in trouble or if there is a security breach that needs immediate attention. The zoom in features of video surveillance cameras can help in the facial recognition of students involved in bullying or any other activity that calls for appropriate disciplinary actions.
If installed correctly, the local high school will experience a significant drop in the costs of security incidents. This translates to enhanced safety that the students will benefit. Other than that, the school will also be spared the trouble of repainting often due to graffiti on walls. This is because the video cameras will capture images of the perpetrators red handedly so they will be warned and/or punished.
Most importantly, since the school feels safer with video surveillance in place, students and teachers will no longer be afraid of coming to school. Parents won’t be worried about their children coming home late from school because of projects and other extra-curricular activities. Further, the improved over-all atmosphere in the school may help in conditioning students to concentrate better in their studies and produce agreeable test results.
But before you get all hyped by another modern technology possibly ending bullying, be reminded that the school needs to comply with state laws regarding privacy. Again, the biggest concern here is the privacy of the staff and students in school. There should be proper placement of cameras and as much as possible, private places like the restroom and locker rooms should not be included in the scope of video surveillance to prevent the possibility of abuse.