Council recommends against cameras

Thursday, July 8, 2010

By DEAN SHALHOUP

Staff Writer

AMHERST – There are a number of measures that school and district officials could implement to improve safety and security at Souhegan High, members of its Community Council agree, but one of them should not be the installation of security cameras in and around the building.

The council, an advisory panel made up of students, educators and community members, began studying the issue several months ago, spurred in part by fallout from the deadly Mont Vernon home invasion in October, in which two Souhegan students are accused of taking part. It was also in response to some parents’ renewed assertions that Souhegan’s security policies are too lenient, increasing the chances of crime from outsiders and giving students too much freedom.

Many who voiced strong support for security cameras say they would deter people from committing crimes or breaking rules, reduce unseen bullying and theft, protect the school from outside threats, possibly locate gang symbols and generally aid attempts to catch wrongdoers.

“People are forgetting that students have exposure to different things in school now,” said Amherst resident Karen Tuthill, one of the more vocal supporters of cameras, “All this warm, fuzzy stuff is great, but today, bad things happen.”

Tuthill and others also asked officials why Amherst Middle School has cameras, but Souhegan doesn’t.

In its final report, which members presented to the Souhegan Cooperative School Board at a June meeting, the council recommends that school and district officials consider a number of security upgrades, such as new locking systems; limiting access to chemical labs and the roof, among other areas; installing a Caller ID system to track calls; and emphasize personal responsibility and safety awareness among students and staff.

But when it came to security cameras, the council reiterated its long-standing position questioning the effectiveness of security cameras and that their presence would likely have a negative effect on the school atmosphere.

Board Chairman Steve Coughlan said members reviewed copies of the council’s report and discussed it briefly with council representatives, and now plan to submit it to the consulting firm that the district hired to inspect Souhegan’s infrastructure from top to bottom to identify necessary upgrades as the buildings approach 20 years old.

“We asked the consultant to incorporate (the council’s) findings into its report,” Coughlan said. “There are two main sections that the consultant will be looking at: Things that need fixing, and things that we should do to modify or upgrade to meet today’s educational needs.”

Community Council has a lengthy history of studying school security and taking the lead in compiling crime statistics and organizing public forums and other interactive programs to garner community opinion.

Outgoing council communications director Will Carbery, who graduated in June, said the 2006 debate centered almost exclusively around cameras, but this spring’s council initiative covered a much wider scope.

“A lot of research has gone into this,” Carbery said in May, when the council presented the board with its preliminary report. He said council members visited five other schools over several weeks, looking at the various aspects of security systems and asking school officials how effective they seem to be.

Destinations included neighbors Hollis/Brookline, Milford and Bedford high schools, along with Groton-Dunstable (Mass.) Regional High and Noble High School, a small regional school in North Berwick, Maine.

“We got a lot of good ideas, not just about cameras, but things like sign-in, sign-out systems and other technology that they are using or have tried out,” he said.

Of the five, only Bedford has no cameras, Carbery said, while Hollis/Brookline has cameras outside the building but not inside. The number of cameras in use, he said, ranges from 16 at Milford High to 48 at Groton-Dunstable.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 673-3100, ext. 31, or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.