School board seeks public’s comments on security camera installation

Video surveillance called a deterrent to protect staff, equipment and property

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board is seeking the public’s views as it updates rules on the use of video surveillance at schools to comply with new guidelines from the province’s information and privacy commissioner.

Superintendent Michael Prendergast said the board is also working with a consultant to review the number and placement of existing security cameras to see if any changes are required.

Only 24 of the board’s 102 schools currently use cameras, and parent, student and community responses to a brief online public survey will help the board decide which direction it should take on surveillance, he said.

“Surveillance in schools is primarily for student safety and staff safety,” Prendergast said.

“We don’t ever want to be seen as policing schools, but it’s a deterrent to protect staff, school equipment, and property, essentially.”

All 14 high schools use security cameras, along with 10 elementary schools across the city.

Prendergast said the board is already complying with a requirement to post signs warning people they are in a surveillance area — typically in spots outside where vandalism or a break-in may occur and in entrances inside.

Cameras aren’t used in locations where people expect privacy, like a washroom, or in cafeterias because they have staff supervision, he said.

“We really need to balance the benefits of surveillance with the loss of privacy to individuals,” Prendergast said.

Guidelines issued by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario state video surveillance should use as few cameras as possible and only in areas where needed.

School boards are advised to consider less intrusive alternatives when possible, like better lighting and foot patrols for a dimly lit area where violence or vandalism is a problem.

The guidelines state cameras cannot be used to monitor student attendance or school uniform infractions and are generally forbidden as a way to police more minor offences like littering.

If videos aren’t used or disclosed for a purpose — such as a police investigation or to verify circumstances of an incident like an accidental fall — they are to be routinely deleted at the earliest opportunity.

The school board survey runs until the end of October and Prendergast said all responses will remain anonymous.

To participate, visit hwdsb.on.ca/ blog/community-consultation-forvideo-surveillance/.