Vertical Markets

Body cameras and schools

by Mark Rowe

A report published by the Times Education Supplement (TES) has detailed how teachers at two UK schools are to take part in a trial whereby they will wear body cameras in the classroom.

Early ideas into how the technology would work are currently being considered at both unnamed schools, though one plan is that the project will see teachers fitting the cameras onto their clothes. Essentially, the technology would always be filming, though incidents could only be recorded and encrypted footage saved once a switch found on the devices is activated. Due to this design, all teachers who would take part in the trial would be advised to switch their cameras to recording mode once they have established that a ‘low-level’ incident is developing. They would also be made aware of the fact that they will need to give notice to those in the classroom before any recording begin.

Emphasising the effectiveness of this particular strategy, Tom Ellis, a principal lecturer at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies (ICJS) at Portsmouth University, underlined: “There’s very much an emphasis on getting rid of low-level disruption or disorder in the classroom.”

Schools throughout the US have already begun using similar technology, while both Greater Manchester Police and the Metropolitan Police have introduced body-worn video technology in the form of new helmet designs and vest-mounted cameras.

Mr Ellis believes that body cameras being used in UK classrooms can be just as effective, as they could act as a deterrent. He said: “It can be used for self-reflection. It can be shown back to the pupil, one-on-one, and that can have a positive impact without the need to resort to disciplinary process.”

There’s plenty of additional support for introducing body cameras into UK schools among teachers, as shown by a TES poll reported on by the Independent. In fact, 37.7 per cent of more than 600 teachers surveyed said that they were in favour of body cameras being used in the classroom. Close to two-thirds of respondents went as far as to state that the technology would make them feel safer in their working environment, with 10.9 per cent expressing their confidence that the devices would eventually become compulsory equipment for the UK’s educational establishments.

Not everyone surveyed for the poll were in support of the trial though, with a number of teachers raising concerns about the technology. This included fears that the devices would have negative effects on both their own privacy and that of children in the classrooms, who may feel uneasy that they are being spied on.

Mary Bousted, the general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, was also keen to point out: “If schools have good behaviour policies, they should not have to resort to using body cameras or CCTV. We would not support schools being turned into prisons. CCTV can have a useful role in monitoring entrances and exits to schools to prevent strangers gaining access or vandalism, but we do not support their use in schools to monitor children and staff.”

While body cameras will be something new for classrooms throughout the UK though, it should be noted that CCTV systems have already been put to effective use at many of the country’s schools. This includes through the following guises:

•Video Content Analysis systems so that analysis of CCTV images can be carried out to provide meaningful information. For example…
•The identification of whether objects have been removed from a certain area of the school.
•The analysis of CCTV images in order to identify specific patterns, like smoke when addressing arson attacks.
•The ability to establish virtual tripwires that trigger an alert, should someone attempt to cross a specific boundary – eliminating the need to erect walls or fencing at these locations.
•CCTV in classrooms to address issues of bullying and also assist with teaching training — for the latter, this technology can be used as an alternative to having a teaching colleague present in the classroom throughout the entire lesson.
•Access control systems, such as those provided by security installer 2020 Vision, that are specifically designed for educational establishments, so that security personnel can keep updated about who is in a facility once they have been added to turnstiles, gates and barriers throughout.

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