Smile! You're on Amity Camera

The Amity Board of Education last night approved the purchase of a 24-camera surveillance system to be installed before school opens next fall. Presented by board member Phil Grande, a member of the facilities committee, the $30,000 purchase will be made from existing funds in this year's budget.

The cameras will be placed in the main areas of the building such as hallways, cafeteria and the entrance to the locker rooms and are intended to serve as a deterrent and also as an investigative tool.

"We've had quite a few thefts from the locker room," explains Amity Superintendent John Brady. "We'll put one camera at the entrance to the locker room and we'll be able to determine who enters and exits the area."

Amity Middle School Orange Principal Kathleen Fuller-Cutler shared her experiences with similar systems in the school district she was last employed with in Maine.

"It doesn't negate due process, it adds to it, and gives us something tangible to see," she says. "I've said to students, 'Before I look at the film, is there anything you want to tell me?' and inevitably, they'll admit to what they did."

The cameras will be used inside and outside the school and will be monitored by administrators. They're being used to protect against hallway altercations and bullying, drug use, theft and other issues.

"These cameras add to the safe climate at the school. Kids do feel safer," Fuller-Cutler says. "It eliminates the 'he said/she said' conversations when we can just look and see exactly what happened. It doesn't take away from our freedom, it adds to it."

She said they're also quite effective on school buses.

Board Chairman William Blake said, "There is no desire to have to call law enforcement and there is no desire to have surveillance cameras. The reality is that this year, we've had kids taken out of school in ambulances. It's terrible for the kid in the ambulance, but it's also terrible for the kids watching it happen."

"It is our responsibility to provide a safe and positive atmosphere for these kids. This seems to be something we need to do," he says.

The board voted unanimously to approve the purchase and installation of the 24-camera system. When asked if they were being considered for use in the middle schools, Grande said, "We're going to walk before we run. We'll consider it after we field test at the high school."