Smile, you could soon be on camera when you’re at Douglas Road Elementary School.
The Burnaby school board has approved a new $12,000 video surveillance system for the building.
The school’s parent advisory council (PAC) approached the district about getting security cameras, secretary-treasurer Russell Horswill told the NOW.
PAC chair Esther Bernardi said the central Burnaby school is “very safe,” but staff can’t see the two main doors at the front and back of the building because the office is upstairs.
“It would be really nice if the office would have a camera to see people coming in and out of those doors,” she said. “Not that we’ve ever had a safety issue, but safety is our main concern. Just because nothing’s ever happened to our school in 40 years doesn’t mean it can’t.”
Unlike most local schools, Douglas Road didn’t have security cameras, according to Horswill, and the district just happened to be interested in piloting some new surveillance technology when the school’s request came in.
“The technology we have now is old analog stuff running on coax cable,” he said. “The new stuff is digital.”
Digital systems make accessing images taken in a particular time frame much easier, according to the secretary-treasurer.
The district will pilot the new technology with an eye to upgrading surveillance systems at all of its sites, Horswill said.
The school board allows for the “controlled use of video surveillance” on school board property for safety and security, according to the board’s policy manual, but surveillance must be carried out in a way that “respects the privacy rights of students, staff and others.”
Regulations state the introduction of new video surveillance at a school has to be approved by the board after the plan has been reviewed and approved by the school planning council. Notifications also have to be put up at sites with video surveillance, according to the regulations, and video files are to be erased within a year unless they are needed in relation to a specific incident.
