Interior School Cameras Could Be a Possibility
School hopes to make everyone safer
BAR HARBOR—A well-meaning student opens a door to let an adult into a hallway.
A visitor, unaccustomed to school rules, scoots past the office without signing in, so a staff member has to run after them as they walk down the hall, not knowing who they are or if they are a potential threat to the school’s safety.
A student who leaves the classroom or wanders off from a bathroom without permission (elopement) 1
They are all situations that can strike fear in educators’ hearts.
During Tuesday’s meeting of the Bar Harbor Superintending School Committee, Principal Heather Webster mentioned some security and communication needs at the Conners Emerson Elementary School to help try to make the school safer and more secure and to allow better communication amongst teachers and staff.
Some needs, like a unanimously approved $37,000 phone system to replace a fragile system that doesn’t work and isn’t comprehensive, were easily approved especially since that system can be used for the new school as well, though the phones may be upgraded at that time. That was paid for via money in the school’s capital improvement projects budget.
Other needs gathered a bit more discussion. Principal Heather Webster said that she’s been in conversation with the school’s Parent Teacher Student Association about putting cameras in the interior hallways of the building as well as the cafeteria. The cost would be approximately $9,500, but she’s trying to whittle that down and look a bit more at where they are needed and the placement in the buildings.
“I think the benefits really outweigh not having them in the building,” she said.
As it is now, they can’t quickly ascertain if there is an unapproved visitor in the building without being in that same space physically. Kids who might run out of class or unauthorized visitors who aren’t caught by the administrative staff at the front door could be viewed.
Both those situations have occurred on the school campus, which currently has two separated buildings and therefore more than one entry point. She’d also like to spend between $150 to $200 to have visitor passes with photos printed out when authorized visitors do arrive at the schools.
School Superintendent Michael Zboray said that he’d have to double check on the interior policy for the district and that though no other schools have interior cameras, swatting incidents around the state have increased schools desires state-wide to be able to quickly scan interior spaces to see if there are intruders.
Multiple high schools throughout Maine went on lockdown in November after false threats of school shootings. MDI High School had a lockdown November 1 after a severe and credible threat was received.
Last November, Maine State Police put out the following statement in reference to those incidents:
“The Department of Public Safety is aware of multiple active shooter threats that have been made at schools throughout the state. Maine State Police have been assisting local law enforcement agencies with these initial investigations.
“At this time these reports are believed to be a hoax. The Maine Information Analysis Center (MIAC) is heavily involved in coordinating these investigations.”
The hoax impacted schools in Brewer, Belfast, Brunswick, Ellsworth, Fort Fairfield, Gardiner, Houlton, Portland, Rockland, and Sanford who all received similar information, and many of them went into some form of a lockdown as a result of an 8:20 a.m. call.
When the threat is “swatting” it calls for fast, quick action from schools and emergency services providers.
According to CNN,
“Swatting is not new – it was on the FBI’s radar as early as 2008 – but its origins are murky.
“At the most basic level, swatting is similar to the prank calls you and your friends might have made growing up.
“The difference is, swatting is a prank call made to authorities with the express purpose of luring them to a location – usually a home – where they are led to believe a horrific crime has been committed or is in progress.
“This results in a forceful response from local police or SWAT teams, who have no way to know the call is a hoax.”
Yahoo News calls swatting a way of “weaponizing fear.” And there are psychological costs for swatting incidents or credible threats and lockdowns such as the one that happened at MDI High School last year. A juvenile was involved in that incident. According to Bar Harbor Police Captain David Kerns, this is still in the juvenile justice system and hasn't been completely adjudicated.
Recently elected board member, Misha Mytar said interior cameras make her nervous and there are potential downsides, but did not specify what those downsides were.
Webster said that when it comes to helping students with behavioral issues, the school bus cameras have been a great assistance for her and her staff. Watching videos of alleged bullying incidents or alleged violence has made it easier to have conversations with a child about what happened and how they can create skills so as to not repeat it, rather than going around and around with the students about whether the incident happened at all. The visual evidence often negates students’ refusal to take ownership of their actions.
The board will discuss it more at its September discussion and it might be an AOS-wide decision as well, Zboray said.
Currently, the regional school system policy seems to indicate that interior security cameras can be used. The first paragraph states that video can only be viewed by building principals and Zboray. However, the second page mentions police use as well for criminal investigations.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
National Child Traumatic Stress Network responding to child trauma reactions
Assisting Parents/Caregivers in Coping with Collective Traumas
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/11/15/news/active-shooting-maine-schools-hoax/
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/11/16/news/bangor/swatting-maine-schools-response-joam40zk0w/
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/30/us/swatting-what-is-explained/index.html
Academic stress, mental health issues, behavioral issues, social isolation, bullying or even issues at home can cause elopement. It occurs in most schools.