Teenagers unhappy about security cameras in school lavatories
Students at Lipson School in Plymouth UK returned from a one-week break to discover closed-circuit security cameras in the lavatories (They were "the round ones that can move," said one 15-year-old who saw them). After hundreds of students protested, the school agreed to remove the cameras.
I'm not sure I believe principal Steve Baker when he says he didn't know about the cameras, but if he's telling the truth, he should either fire the creep who ordered them to be installed, or he should resign in shame for not knowing what's going on in the school he is paid to oversee. However, Baker says he's not going to even discipline the unnamed miscreant who had the cameras installed. "It's a learning situation, not a disciplinary one," Baker said.
Principal Steve Baker said contractors fitted them on the orders of another staff member, who did not have the measure approved by him or school governors.LinkMr Baker added that the system had now been disabled and would be removed as soon as possible.
He said: "Someone made an error. They had no authorisation from me or from the governors to install these cameras"
the latest
latest episodes
Creeeeepy...
Is it legal to have cameras in the bathroom?
Yes, it's the principal's responsibility, regardless of whether 1.) he ordered it, 2.) he knew that someone reporting to him ordered it, or 3.) he is such an inept manager that he had no idea someone reporting to him ordered it.
Instant dismissal for him, just as I am sure he would have called for the instant expulsion of any students whose infractions these cameras would have revealed to him.
(How refreshing it would be if erstwhile authority figures realized their responsibilities to the public, and turned their cameras inward so the public could watch them in the performance of their duties!)
they were pointed at the hand basins. Now that they have been removed,everyone can rest easy. The students have their privacy, the parents are assured and the school administration's private collection of exciting video can continue to grow now that no one is looking for the hidden pinhole cameras located in each stall.
Having lived extensively on both sides of the Atlantic I can vouch to Britain's problems with a type of casual & opportunistic crime largely unknown in the US.
The solution to this epidemic has been the implementation of hundred of thousands of cameras throughout both public & private spaces. These bathroom units are merely an extension of the acceptance that the British people seem to have towards these intrusions, all in the name of public safety.
Unfortunately, as Sir Winston said, those who sacrifice freedom for security soon find they have neither.
THESE CAMERAS ARE FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY!
Hangin's too good for him. Burnin's too good for him. He should be cut up into little bitty pieces and buried alive.
- Hannover Fist
Hangin's too good for him. Burnin's too good for him. He should be cut up into little bitty pieces and buried alive.
- Hannover Fist
"a type of casual & opportunistic crime largely unknown in the US."
do tell
So what if a camera looks at the lavs? I know what kind of vandilism takes place in schools, and it's the tax payers who foot the bill, along with good students. Teenagers can have a minimum of rights while in school as far as I care. So many of them act like animals and deserve to be looked at all the time. I went to private school and had NO rights.
Teenagers can have a minimum of rights while in school as far as I care. So many of them act like animals and deserve to be looked at all the time.
Get a grip. They're the future.
"I went to private school and had NO rights."
and look at the damage it did to you. You are just being ironic, aren't you?
Students in a Tennessee school discover a CCTV camera in their locker room: On the Net, Unseen Eyes
#9 -
Obviously I'm going to be guilty of some generalizations here but there is a level of vandalism, unprovoked attacks and a complete disregard for property in the UK that I have always found surprising.
Vicious crimes are often committed "just for the fun of it" with no further reason needed. By comparison, our crime seems to be caused by a real (or perceived) motive or need.
It's a subtle distinction, perhaps others who've experienced the same came chime in more effectively.
#14 -- You are correct, sir. Been there, done that. But that was many years ago, and it rarely went beyond dismantling park benches and pranks with fireworks. Teen violence--rarely fatal--was more associated with football (soccer) hooligans in my day; now, tweens and teens are carrying guns and killing each other, it seems. Hence the need for cameras, perhaps.
By the way, #3 -- I recommend a quick check in the dictionary regarding "erstwhile." Just sayin'...
I think mine had a fixed camera just outside the double-door entrance, and the hand basins were perfectly visible, even from those coming down the stairs. TBH, I've always found the double doors being open all the time more disturbing than the camera itself.
Nothing an IR LED headlight and some spraypaint couldn't fix.
This is the Daily Mail we're talking about, here - care to provide a reliable source?
A small can of spray paint can be remarkably effective in disabling the camera. Less obvious is a smudge of Vasoline. It is transparent and so wont be visible from the ground yet it will distort the image to make faces unrecognizable. Just be sure to hide your face until the deed is done.
Just take your pants off, and boom -- the principal is an instant child pornographer.
In other news, the British Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Rt. Hon. Ed Balls, announced that the plans to alleviate their current financial problems with sales of video to certain internet websites had suffered what he termed a "minor setback".
to pay for the Isle of Jersey investigations?
Here's an example of upper management at a state agency not known for its even-handed treatment of women. He had his toilet cam for a long time.
Judges rule videotaping girls wasn’t illegal; Legislature later passed anti-voyeurism law
Takuan, I'm not being ironic at all. I went to school and know how destructive kids can be. It doesn't always get better with age, you know. That's one reason our prisons in the US are filled.