Current Events Responses - Langley School District considers cameras on full bus fleet

            The Langley School District wanted to install surveillance cameras inside school buses, in an effort to raise security and safety.  Though the district and the school board refuse to inform the public about adding this new gadget, they “insist it’s not yet a done deal.” Most schools districts in Metro Vancouver do not have cameras installed in the buses, but the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District recognizes the fact that they have surveillance cameras on their school buses.

The concept of having cameras equipped on school buses to monitor the students is very interesting, however, it is a concept that I find it difficult to agree with.  I would like to analyze the purpose of these add-ons.  The article states that these “equipment[s] would enhance safety, deter bad behaviour, and help address driver problems.” The reasons are justified and are completely valid, yet, I want to question the effectiveness of these cameras.  For instance, how can the driver monitor during student behaviors when he/she is focused on transporting the passengers safely to their destination.  It is simply too dangerous and stressful for the bus driver to pay attention to two things at once for a period of time. Even though these cameras could be a good way to watch if the bus driver is driving safely and being nice to the students, I feel these cameras are overkilling the situation, since these cameras will be monitoring every action of the students on the bus, leaving the students with little to no privacy.

 It is evident that all the students know there are cameras around the school to watch our behaviours, thus, I thoroughly believe that it is unnecessary for the school to know our every move when we are in school buses.  I would like to direct your attention to video (1), which is a video made by a company that produces bus cameras.  This video focuses on the quality of the camera and the scene of the bus from the camera’s perspective.  I would like to point out that the video clearly shows every single movement of the children near the camera, while the movements of the students at the back of the bus were hindered by seats.  This brings back my previous question on the effectiveness of the video camera.  Evidently, the range it can spot things precisely is still lacking.  On an even more serious note, the viewers can easily see the faces of the students near the camera.  In a sense, their identity is being exposed because anyone who can view these videos is able to clearly see their faces.  Josh Paterson of the BC Civil Liberties Association expressed a similar opinion as mine, as he stated “(…) [w]e think it’s a violation of students’ privacy rights.”  Clearly, the idea of having surveillance on school buses concerns organizations such as BC Civil Liberties Association.  He also added that it is improper for kids to have “have videos trained on them at all times.”  I believe that students will not be able to act freely anymore because they are scared that any of their actions would be caught on tape, thus, resulting him or her being in trouble.  Despite the fact that these cameras keep the school a safer place by allowing officials to spot suspicious behaviors, it also strips away the student’s privacy at the same time.  Additionally, the implementation of these cameras would cost a lot of money, which could be used in enhancing an educational program or other purposes. 

I can see the security level increase with the new cameras being installed on the school buses; however, I do not believe this is more important than the privacy of the students and the effectiveness of these cameras may not meet expectations.  

The news article 

http://www.news1130.com/2013/10/30/langley-school-district-considers-cameras-on-full-bus-fleet/

Video(1): School Bus camera 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUAKH34V3kimfze8uHuKsqMg&v=LNYWeod8_nA#t=854