Columns

By ADAM RUSSELL
Staff Writer

Last week, surveillance footage taken from video cameras in the hallways of Athens Middle School exonerated a group of students of accusations they assaulted a female student.

Superintendent Dr. Fred Hayes praised the surveillance system for contributing to the resolution of the incident and vindication of the students accused of assaulting and threatening to "rape" and "murder" one of their classmates. He said the ability to follow the student's movements throughout the hallways during the time the alleged attack occurred was crucial to uncovering the truth.

Instead of a violent assault by a mob of attackers the video showed a male student take the female student's history project and run away from her. Later video revealed that wounds the accuser said she sustained during the attack were self-inflicted.

If there is any justifiable reason for surveillance in our schools, there is no better circumstance than what happened in Athens.

Providing safety and security in schools has always been a priority for the state, school administrators, communities and parents, but fear of violent assaults on campus in a post-Columbine society allows little reticence on the subject. It should be the expectation of every parent that their child return home safely from school.

Despite fears and shocking violence unfolding in schools across the nation, the National Center for Education Statistics' most recent survey shows from 1992 to 2005, per student victimization nationwide has decreased dramatically and violent incidents have decreased from 55 per 1,000 students to 50. In 2005 14 homicides occurred on Pre-K through 12th grade campuses where approximately 55 million students attended.

That is 14 too many but the truth is violence on campus is more frightening than frequent.

Violence and criminal activity still pose a threat to our schools. The same report showed that 86 percent of public schools reported at least one violent crime, theft or other crime during the 2005-06 year.

Hayes said the cameras in Athens have been useful in cases of petty theft and settling "he said, they said" incidents prior to the alleged assault. The camera is a reliable and constant witness to what occurs in the hallways when administrators and teachers are not present, he said.

Tyler Independent School District Police Chief Rex Brown said the district installed a fully digital system on 12 secondary campuses for $1.3 million two years ago. For some districts, that may not be possible, but Brown said he is thankful the district had the foresight to install a system that helps his department re-actively and pro-actively monitor his schools.

Brown said people are the most important security tools on campuses but cameras add invaluable, cost-efficient security. He said cameras assist his department after offenses occur and help patrol areas or students in situations his department deems necessary. The example he gave was the ability to follow a student going to their vehicle during school hours. They can determine if the student is retrieving a book or up to no good, he said.

While the uses of cameras can add security on campuses, their use has drawn criticism and questions of effectiveness. The invasive use of cameras in schools may lead to unfair treatment of students, manufacture "distrust" among and between students and administrators and create privacy issues, even abuses, said Tod Schneider, a school safety researcher at the University of Oregon, in a report from 2001, two years after Columbine. Columbine itself brings a question of effectiveness to light. The school had surveillance cameras in the school during the rampage but could not stop it.

There are also questions regarding targeting students for surveillance because of their appearance, race, gender or religious beliefs. The American Civil Liberties Union's stand on video surveillance in schools is determined by whether or not "staff or students have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy.'''

There are and should be varying expectations of privacy from hallways to bathrooms or locker rooms. There have been documented abuses involving use of cameras in areas where students should expect privacy but they appear to be rare and easily resolved when identified.

Some schools refuse to install cameras in classrooms because they believe it interferes with teacher-student interaction. TISD does not have cameras in its classrooms. Installation, maintenance and upgrading the system are obviously cost considerations school districts must face. Other further-reaching considerations the ACLU point to are the effects constant surveillance may have on an entire generation of Americans who have had cameras watching them since they entered middle school. They fear it may desensitize Americans and enable the creation of a "surveillance society."

Public school administrators and police officers may praise the constant "witness" watching their hallways, and Athens proved the effectiveness of its system. However, parents and administrators must remain diligent. The security of our children is priceless, but be wary of the price they pay for that security.

Adam Russell
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