Chicago Links School Cameras To Police

Farakin brings us a story about how cameras in roughly 200 Chicago schools are being connected to police headquarters and the city's 911 emergency center. The goal of the effort is to "consolidate video surveillance," and it will involve both routine monitoring and real-time updates to officers on their way to a crisis. According the the Chicago Tribune, "The mayor acknowledged the cameras provide only limited security, citing a spate of shootings in recent days that have claimed young victims during after-school hours." The story also contains a video in which Mayor Daley indicated that he expects the cameras to serve as a deterrent now that people know they're under the eye of the police.

Big Brother knows best

[orclevegam]

Remember, Big Brother is watching.

I predict nothing will come of this but a bunch of kids getting in trouble for flicking off the cameras. Or maybe someone will get creative and steal some of the cameras, now that would be awesome.

Without a Clause, Big Brother without a cause.

[DigitalisAkujin]

There needs to be a cause and effect for a government to justify this. In other words, this makes sense to fight crime in schools as these are inner city schools we're talking about but do we really expect inner city schools to be as bad as they are forever? There should be a clause advocating the removal of the cameras if the situation has improved for a long duration of time (say 2 years?). Otherwise it really does start a 1984 society and that's not good.

Group punishment?

[chris_eineke]

Isn't adding surveillance to monitor a group a punishment of said group? One student flips out and goes on a killing spree, therefore all other students need to be monitored from now on -- that seems like a treatment, not a cure, for the problem.

Re:Big Brother knows best

[orclevegam]

Or they could wear one of these [slashgear.com], thanks for reminding me of it.

False Alarms

[Datamonstar]

Would a group of students wasting the police's resources by staging some convincing (and likely quite humorous) staged incidents indicate to people who little protection camera systems like these would provide? Or, perhaps a female student who may be prematurely displaying the signs of puberty could be the focus of the same camera everyday due to her class schedule? These sort of things are prone to more abuse than they are to help, and I can guarantee that I'd have cracked up some particularly hilarious pranks to pull on a school camera system, if one were present at my high school.

Re:Group punishment?

[tgacid]

On one hand, it could be seen as a punishment against a group, but how much of a punishment is it to have a security camera installed to monitor your own safety? I know my school installed outward-facing security cameras after some deadly violence not to actively go after any troublemakers on the grounds, but to have the option to reconstruct any scenes/entries of people entering the building in case anything did happen.

Re:I wonder what the teachers think?

[IdeaMan]

It unfortunately could work the other way. There is a friend of mine in jail for 20 years as a child molester for a crime he didn't commit. He was a teacher, and if there had been cameras at that time he would have been exonerated.
All it would take would be a couple of those, or proof of the students harassing the teachers to cement their usage.

The big problem here is getting the population to expect this depredation of their liberties by starting with kids. When those kids grow up they'll think it's normal for Big Brother to be watching them 24/7.

Re:Group punishment?

[Revotron]

Are you trying to sound deluded? If you think violence is something that can be cured, you need historical perspective [wikipedia.org] and common sense. Consider how many school shootings have taken place in the last 50 years. [wikipedia.org]

"One student flips out and goes on a killing spree, therefore all other students need to be monitored from now on"...

One student? What would you say for if you were the parent of a child who was killed by a student who just "flipped out"?