Big Brother is alive and well in Monroe County....

[Todd B]

Although in this day and age I can't actually blame Ida Schools taking the measures described below, reading about this type of technology coming to the halls of the 'ole alma mater kind of sends a chill down my spine. What do you think about this?


A way to watch

www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070914/NEWS01/109140047

Article published Sep 14, 2007

Two Monroe County school districts are receiving almost $44,000 in federal grant money for security cameras and other upgrades to enhance safety on their campuses.

Bedford and Ida public schools will split the money and each district will match its share. The grant is through the U.S. Department of Justice Office and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

Bedford Public Schools Supt. Jon White said the funds will be used to purchase security digital cameras that will be installed at the high school for the first time.

"Over the years I never particularly felt that there was a need for a camera system in our high school," Mr. White said. "But times have changed."

Bedford High School Principal Dennis Caldwell said 29 cameras will in be installed throughout the building, mostly at entrances and high traffic areas. Cameras also will be installed at the bus garage.

At Ida Public Schools, Supt. Marvin thingy said the district is planning to purchase 12 electronic card key locks to be installed at the main entrances of the three buildings.

The district also will add and upgrade its security camera system that has been in place for several years. The system has 16 cameras and four more are being added. Mr. thingy said he believes in using security cameras to help prevent crime. He said the students are aware of them.

"Frankly, the cameras are a deterrent," he said. "We don't make a secret of it. We don't hide them."

The grant was obtained through the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and is part of the Secure our Schools program. Districts that receive money are required to match the amount.

Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said the grant was applied for in July and offered to all county school districts. Ida and Bedford were the only ones that responded. The total grant award is $43,824.

"I am pleased to announce that the full amount requested has been approved," Sheriff Crutchfield said. "I am always in favor of increasing the security of our schools."

The COPS grant is providing $14.8 million to 152 law enforcement agencies in 36 states. Of the $43,824 awarded to the two districts, Ida is receiving $20,052 and Bedford will receive $23,772. Both districts must match those amounts.

Bedford's Mr. White said the award is important because without it, chances would be slim that the security cameras would be purchased due to budget restraints.

"We're very pleased," Bedford's Mr. White said. "This is great news. This will help us a lot."

[Todd B]

While I traditionally disagree with the ACLU on a majority of their positions on recent topics, AND have supported nearly all of the anti-terrorism based legislation passed to-date, this article does a fairly good job of explaining the scary path where we're traversing as a nation.

This timely article just popped up today, and should give us all something to think about.


www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070918/NATION/109180049/1002

Clock to tick down U.S. privacy
By Audrey Hudson
September 18, 2007

EXCERPTS
"A "Surveillance Society Clock" created by the American Civil Liberties Union will symbolize the encroachment of government spying on private citizens.....

....The false security of a surveillance society threatens to turn our country into a place where individuals are constantly susceptible to being trapped by data errors or misinterpretations, illegal use of information by rogue government workers, abuses by political leaders — or perhaps most insidiously, expanded legal uses of information for all kinds of new purposes," the report says.

We are far too close to the midnight of a genuine surveillance society, and the second hand has not stopped sweeping around the dial," the report says."

[Maynard Polarski]

I'm just glad those cameras were not in place when I was in school. Could of been trouble for some "pranksters". Naaarrrp!

[Todd B]

I read this yesterday in the Detroit News, and thought it would make a good addition here for futher discussion....

-T.B.


www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712060308

Thursday, December 6, 2007 - DetNews Editorial

Go easy in surveilling students
Ann Arbor's school cameras raise Big Brother concerns

Most of the time, we consider the rights of school children to be limited pretty much to the right to come to class, the right to learn their lessons from a competent teacher and the right to behave themselves.

But the students at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School who are claiming a right to privacy in objecting to the security cameras that cover nearly every inch of public space in the building have a compelling argument.

The Washtenaw County school district installed the cameras in hallways and other common areas as a security measure, joining school districts across the state and country in trying to more closely monitor what goes on inside their buildings.

The student council at Pioneer High School has enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan in fighting the expanded surveillance.

Again, we think it's rare when the ACLU adds to the quality of the educational experience.

But the security cameras make us twitch. ACLU of Michigan Legal Director Michael J. Steinberg correctly expresses concern that saturating public schools with video cameras will condition students "to accept that surveillance is normal." (Note: My thoughts *exactly*!)

It isn't normal, and it most often isn't necessary.

School officials say security trumps privacy, but there's no evidence that keeping students under constant watch improves safety.

There may be places in the building where cameras are appropriate -- entranceways, for example. But students shouldn't have to live with the knowledge that their every move is being watched by someone.

We want our children to be safe when they attend school. We also want them to behave appropriately.

But we don't want them to learn to live in a constantly surveilled society where they are nervous about expressing themselves publicly for fear of recrimination. George Orwell wrote a pretty good book about the dangers of that sort of place. (Didn't we have to read that book in one of our English classes at Ida?)

There should be enough adults in school buildings to police the hallways without having to take a Big Brother approach to tracking students.

[Todd B]

Video: www.clickondetroit.com/video/14937000/index.html

ClickOnDetroit.com
www.clickondetroit.com/education/14937558/detail.html

Secret Cameras Discovered In High School
Student Journalists Discover Cameras

POSTED: 9:39 am EST December 28, 2007


BOSTON -- Students writing for Newton South High School's newspaper discovered that secret cameras were installed in their school.

"We're not happy that we were the first ones to tell the community about it. We think that it should have been more open," said Olivia DaDalt, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, called Denebola.

On the Internet the young reporters said they Googled "hidden security cameras" and quickly found the exact devices they saw in their school, which they learned were installed at the end of the summer.

The cameras were located outside bathrooms and locker rooms, areas where student property had been stolen, presumably as a security measure to combat theft and vandalism, WCVB-TV in Boston reported.

"It's just really concerning that the general public just wasn't made aware of the fact that they installed these cameras," said Jason Kuo, a managing editor who worked on the story.

School Principal Brian Salzer wrote an internal e-mail, "They were installed without permission from anyone. I didn't know they were up! The students broke the story to (Superintendent) Jeff Young, School Committee and me."

A spokesman said that Mayor David Cohen couldn't comment because he didn't know about it.

Salzer, who wouldn't speak on camera, admitted he later learned who installed the cameras but refused to reveal names. He also indicated in his e-mail that he believed the cameras would be removed soon.

"What we want more than to point a finger is to figure out why this happened," said DaDalt.

The chairman of the school committee said the issue would be discussed after the holidays.

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting.