By Abby Ciancolo
Editor-in-Cheif
With events in the past year, such as the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary and the stabbing of Colleen Ritzer at Danvers High School, school security has been on the brain for many Americans.
Westford Academy has been dealing with security across the school with newly implemented procedures and training, adding Student Resource Officer Detective Agraz, and limiting access in and out of school.
One aspect WA has not yet addressed is the addition of security cameras. Implementing this equipment would bring the school to a new level of safety, making students feel even more secure.
The world we live in now is dangerous, and the idea of an intruder coming into the school has become even more of a threat.
Due to all of these occurrences, 19 out of 20 greater Boston school systems have implemented new security procedures and materials according to a survey from the Boston Globe. Out of these 20, six districts are installing security cameras.
One of the biggest drawbacks of these systems are the price tags. Adding a full set of cameras to a school can cost up to $200,000 depending on the size of the school and the number of cameras installed. Individual cameras cost in between $500 and $1000 depending on the brand.
However, I would be surprised to find a parent or taxpayer that would have a problem with spending the money to install these for the security of hundreds of children. The cost would also be less expensive in the long run than hiring security personnel, if the cameras were durable enough to last at least a few years.
Located right in Westford is Tyco Integrated Security, a company that specializes in designing security cameras and access control solutions. The company has specific products for educational purposes that include monitoring systems. This gives Westford Academy a surplus of resources right down the road to take advantage of.
Adding security cameras to Westford Academy could be an essential part of taking security to the next level. At the Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut this past year, there were no security cameras present at the school at the time of the shooting that fatally killed many young students and teachers.
Although the cameras could not prevent the intruder from entering the building, the lack of footage limits the evidence they have from this tragedy. This video surveillance could be used to assess weaknesses in their school system and improve going forward to prevent these events from happening.
Security threats are not only limited to people coming from outside the school. In the case of Danvers High School, the suspect was a student in the school. Video surveillance was a key tool in discovering the events that transpired and providing evidence to find the suspect.
Similarly, at the Columbine High School massacre, security cameras were present in the school. Video allowed the school and police to review footage and identify the two killers.
Security cameras can also assist administration in monitoring hallways for suspicious activity. During classes, there are always people roaming the halls avoiding class. Adding the cameras would allow administration to see who is hanging around during class and address those people.
The bottom line is that precautions can be taken to limit who comes in and out of the building, but if someone armed wanted access to our school, they would find a way in.
Installing video cameras into the school would allow WA a viable option to secure the halls during the school day, monitor the building in the event of an emergency, and provide materials for accident review.
