9th February 2017 1:00
By Blue Tutors
In two schools in England, body-worn cameras are being introduced as a means of addressing dangerous or disruptive behaviour in schools. Unlike a continuous surveillance system, teachers are given cameras to use specifically during incidents where staff or pupils appear to be in danger or there is a potential threat to be dealt with. Within this remit, teachers have been given permission to use the cameras, “when legitimate, proportionate and necessary”. It is left to the discretion of the teachers if and when they want to use the cameras to prevent escalation of any imminent altercation.
Although the two schools involved in the UK are only using the cameras on a trial basis, this style of bodycam has been in use in US schools for two years already. When used by police they were found to improve public order and reduce assault by 20%. All of the data is stored securely on a cloud platform similar to that used by parking wardens or police, and parents have been informed and are supportive of the scheme. The scheme also has significant support from teachers, with a survey suggesting that 37% of teachers would be happy to wear a bodycam. Many say they have few options left and are fed up with the general levels of disorder and disruptive behaviour in classrooms, leaving them spending more time and effort on discipline than actual teaching.
Yet some, including Big Brother Watch, have voiced concerns over the excessive nature of this intrusion into students’ privacy. There are also concerns over the impact on the relationship between students and teachers, criminalising students before they have even done anything. Some teachers are horrified by the prospect of body cams and say they would refuse to wear them. Others point out that schools operate in “different contexts” and it is for heads to decide what is most appropriate given their circumstances. The two comprehensive schools in this case have a long history or behavioural problems that have yet to be resolved, and the use of the cameras is as much to protect staff as it is to protect students and their improve learning.
The trial has been run by the schools themselves, and the spokesperson from the Department of Education has said that thus far they appear to be acting within the law, but they have not yet investigated it in any detail. The government’s advisor on school discipline, however, is cautious; he stated that while they may be appropriate in extreme cases, such as school with high levels of violence where teachers and pupils are in real danger, rolling out such technology as a solution across all mainstream classrooms would have to be done with great care. The opinion of many schools seems to be that this is an expensive technology solution to a problem that would hopefully be resolved by creating a better school culture, not widening the divide between teacher and student.