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Essay about Should Public Schools Install Video Surveillance Cameras?

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"Smile, you're on Candid Camera." This was the catch phrase for the television show Candid Camera. The show filmed unsuspecting people in embarrassing and hilarious positions while their reactions are recorded on a hidden camera. Surveillance cameras are video cameras or close circuit TV (CCTV), which is used for the purpose of observing an area. There are several major concerns on school campuses. The two main concerns on school campuses are safety and security. With school violence on a steady rise, schools are force to resort to many safety and security measures including metal detectors, security guards, and surveillance cameras. Besides academics, protecting the students at school is a top priority to many parents, school …show more content…

This is because; the school safety is becoming worse and worse, especially in our public schools. One of the ways to combat our declining public schools safety is to increase the security measures. Villano believe “at the head of every schools security wish list is video surveillance, which districts are embracing at breakneck speed” (Villano, 2007, p. 1) According to Rapp “During the 2005–06 school year, according to the most recent statistics available from the U.S. Department of Education, 86 percent of public schools nationwide reported that one or more serious violent incidents, thefts, or other crimes had occurred at their school, for a total of roughly 2.2 million crimes” (Rapp, n.d., p. 1). This equate to one crime reported for every 20 students. Smith and Sandhu indicate “in an effort to stem the rising tide of violence, many schools have instituted policies designed to deter antisocial behaviors” (Sandhu & Smith, 2004 p. 287). When you factor in vandalism and graffiti about 100,000 incidents of vandalism are reported in the United States public school system every year. The United States Department of Justice published a report on many security technologies available for schools in 1999. The following table summarized the DOJ’s conclusion about the pros and cons of videos cameras use in schools:
SECURITY
TECHNOLOGY PROS CONS

Video
Cameras

• Good deterrence for outsiders who do not belong on campus, especially when used in

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