Hidden Surveillance Cameras in Schools

With the advances in technology, surveillance equipment has become smaller and less expensive. The growing trend is not only increased surveillance of school. Now the surveillance equipment is hidden from both students and staff:

“…The research, conducted by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), also suggested more than half - 52.9% - said it made them feel safer.

But 23.4% were concerned there may be hidden cameras whose existence was kept from both staff and pupils.”

link: Teacher concerns over school CCTV

With the proliferation of both overt and covert surveillance, there are no empirical data to indicate that they deter crime.

The surveillance also raises issues of ‘who will watch the watchers?‘. Some educators are concerned that subjecting students to constant surveillance changes what is regarded a societal norms. These children will see surveillance as a part of every day life. They will become part of the post-privacy generation.

Catherine Forsythe