Cameras in schools

It seems shootings in our schools are getting more common every year.

Our schools have many places to hide: classrooms, hallways, restrooms, auditoriums, etc. The question of “where is the shooter” is the big problem for the arriving officers, but one that can easily be solved.

Cameras with a monitor are being placed in and around millions of homes in the U.S. and for very little money. The same could be done with our schools.

These cameras could be placed everywhere in our schools, with the monitors put in the principal’s office or at the local police station. Access to the monitor can be easily secured through locks, passwords, etc., to protect the privacy of the teachers and pupils. They would only be turned on in an emergency situation.

Teachers could also carry a device around their necks, similar to a LifeLock, connected to the police and, with the push of a button, provide the police immediate information of a serious problem at a specific school. Officers responding to the call would arrive on the scene knowing all they need to know, even what the shooter looks like, where he or she is standing and what he or she is wearing. The officer could really just open the door and fire.

The cameras would be very reasonable in cost, require little maintenance, and there’s no need to rent additional office space or hire workers to monitor them. As they would be seldom turned on or viewed they should last a long time with no need for the usual government bureaucracy.

— John J. Martin, Norfolk