Video Camera Live Feed to Police Headquarters

The top story on the  Drudge Report yesterday was about a school in New Jersey that is sending live feeds from their 20 school cameras directly to the police. The Drudge Report is a conservative leaning news source, so it ran the story to decry the lack of privacy in the modern world.

DEMAREST, N.J. (CBS) ―
Surveillance cameras rolling inside our local schools is nothing new,
but what's taking place inside Demarest's public schools is truly
cutting edge: a live feed from more than two dozen cameras with a
direct connection to the police.

It's an expensive, but effective tool that could be a sign of the times with an increase in school shootings over the years.

The system, which cost about $28,000, can even track movement in a crowded room.

"When
they arrive, they can pull up the school's live feed and do a sweep
instantly," Demarest Police Chief James Powderley tells CBS 2.

Patrolling
officers have access to the video feed from headquarters and several
laptops. To address privacy concerns, all of the cameras are installed
in public areas and are not equipped to pick up audio.

The
video capabilities are extremely impressive. Each of the laptops can
pick up 16 different angles at one time, turning a single operator into
a mobile surveillance team.

The Video from WCBS, New York.

This represents the next step in school video surveillance. While I too am concerned about the lack of privacy, with the cameras only in public areas and given the current state of the law regarding privacy in schools, I see nothing clearly illegal under current law about this activity.

What I am concerned more about (although this story does concern me) is the increasing relationship between schools and the police. In cases such as this, it is almost as if the police are the school's private security firm. Because of the differences in the law regarding how police treat the public and how school authorities treat school children, mingling the two authorities in schools can be problematic. Police are trained for a different purpose than school authorities are trained and their responses to school disciplinary incidents are naturally going to be different. There is a certain degree of administrative discretion in school authorities (who are always former teachers) that police are not trained or qualified to enforce.

Comments

[John McMillan]

I would like to commend you on your website and your endeavors. I am a student of Professor Jesulon Gibbs at South Carolina State University. I had the privilege of learning under her expert direction in School and the Law. Under her direction, I witnessed the fact that she is dedicated, capable, and thorough. She is nothing less than brilliant. Her course gave me a clear understanding of law as it relates to public school and education. It made me reassess my procedures as it relates to teaching and interacting with students on a daily basis. The fact that she is working in conjunction with you shows your desire to be an enlightening force. Thanks John McMillan

[Justin B.]

Thanks John. Yes, Jesulon is a rising star in the educational law world and it is an honor to work with her. Hope you learned a lot in the course and continue to stay up to date with educational law issues through websites like this and professional development activities when you are a school leader. Good luck with your endeavors.