Surveillance cameras can do a pretty good job at stopping vandalism in certain contexts like public parks. However, the vandalism being performed in this case was against sinks and located in a childrens bathroom. According to Norwich Evening news, the cameras were a “last line of defence” move because of the thousands of pounds of vandalism that occured to the sinks in recent months.
Simon Watt said: “I recently discovered that CCTV cameras had been installed in the toilets. I went into the school to discuss the matter with them, as I was not happy with such a situation.
“Though the cameras are pointed at the sink areas within the toilets and the cameras were installed in response to some vandalism, I have not been pacified and still do not agree with such a Big Brother approach.
“I wonder how many other parents are not aware of this situation and would they feel the same way once they found out? I wonder about the effect on society when this type of monitoring becomes acceptable.”
Charles Farrier, a spokesman for national pressure group No CCTV, which campaigns against surveillance in the UK, also criticised the use of CCTV in schools.
He said: “It's outrageous and unacceptable to put CCTV in toilets, particularly children's toilets. CCTV doesn't stop problems. It is treated as a 'silver bullet' but it won't – at best it films the problem but you can't tell what's going on with the footage.
“It's just treating CCTV as if it is this magic bullet which its not. The industry knows it's not, the police know its not, it's just the people who put it in place think it will solve every problem there is.”
Deputy headteacher Brian Conway said: “We have had a serious recurring vandalism problem in one of our cloakrooms which was causing over £3,500 of damage and flooding each time it has happened.
“After taking advice from other schools and Norfolk County Council we decided to install CCTV to monitor the sinks and taps in this one particular cloakroom.
“The cameras have been installed in accordance with local and national guidance and I stress that they only monitor the sink areas where the vandalism had been occurring – they cannot be moved to face into cubicles or urinals. I am pleased to be able to say that thanks to the CCTV the vandalism has now stopped.
While I agree that setting up a camera in any bathroom, let alone a childrens bathroom sounds like a bad idea, the cameras have proven to be effective and outcome of their implementation (less vandalism) has been a success. I do believe cameras can be effective in the reduction of vandalism when the proper technologies and practices are applied in the correct context. Since the surveillance camera was pointed on a "common area" and not the "private area" of the bathroom, I'm not going to categorize this as a public policy failure, but rather a public surveillance success story.
The UK has an unknown amount of CCTV cameras which could range from 3 million up to perhaps 4.2 million cameras. It has been called the most watched nation by the BBC. UK Detective Mick Neville went so far as to call the police department's CCTV initiatives an utter fiasco. While I somewhat agree with Mick, now is the time to take a step back, collect data on camera effectiveness and implement these systems in the proper contexts going forward.
If CCTV stops kids causing trouble in any area then it has to be a good idea. It will also protect those that are bullied, toilets are often the place where bullies choose to make their attacks.
Time to look at CCTV as the local bobby we once had on our streets, shame we havent developed something that could give the trouble maker a clip round the ear and send them on their way!!
If CCTV stops kids causing trouble in any area then it has to be a good idea. It will also protect those that are bullied, toilets are often the place where bullies choose to make their attacks.
Time to look at CCTV as the local bobby we once had on our streets, shame we havent developed something that could give the trouble maker a clip round the ear and send them on their way!!
CCTV cameras are a very good choice for more secure environment. Using cctv cameras at school may provide more security regarding to vandalism. Using bullet cameras in such places can be highly beneficial were the administration can have high-quality images and video recorders with low costs.