DISTRICT MAY EXPAND CAMERA SURVEILLANCE.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer Students at Littlerock High School Littlerock High School is a public, co-educational high school located in Littlerock, California. It is the a part of the Antelope Valley High School District (AVHSD). External links
adj. 1. Closely observant or alert; vigilant: kept a watchful eye on the clock. See Synonyms at aware, careful. 2. Archaic Not sleeping; awake. eyes of video surveillance cameras. There was the time in November when security guards responded to the student parking lot after cameras caught two people, a student and a nonstudent, trying to break into a car. About two weeks ago, the roving eye of a camera captured two boys crouched crouch v. crouched, crouch·ing, crouch·es v.intr. 1. a. To stoop, especially with the knees bent: crouched over the grate, searching for his keys. down near the wall of a handball handball Any of a variety games in which a small rubber ball is struck against a wall with the hand or fist. It can be played in a three- or four-walled court or against a single wall by two or four players (in singles or doubles games, respectively). court, doing something with their hands. ``Guards went out and investigated and saw one of the boys throw something and kick it,'' campus security officer Al Billyzone recalled. ``They found a joint.'' The cameras at Littlerock are part of a pilot program. District officials are looking at adding at least three more cameras there and installing surveillance equipment at Highland and Lancaster high schools Lancaster High School may refer to:
``It's different on the older campuses that are more spread out. The new ones are two-story and have quads,'' said Con Oamek, assistant superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. for business services. The board at Wednesday's meeting will discuss how to spend $840,000 in extra one-time funds from the state. Board President Bill Olenick said one of his priorities is to dedicate ded·i·cate tr.v. ded·i·cat·ed, ded·i·cat·ing, ded·i·cates 1. To set apart for a deity or for religious purposes; consecrate. 2. part of that money toward video surveillance systems at other schools. Littlerock's cameras and monitoring equipment are valued at $30,000, Oamek said. Littlerock High, with its somewhat isolated campus near 100th Street East and Avenue R, has been plagued by graffiti and vandalism The intentional and malicious destruction of or damage to the property of another. The intentional destruction of property is popularly referred to as vandalism. It includes behavior such as breaking windows, slashing tires, spray painting a wall with graffiti, and . Last year, for example, vandals etched etch v. etched, etch·ing, etch·es v.tr. 1. a. To cut into the surface of (glass, for example) by the action of acid. b. several hundred windows, causing $26,000 in damage, Oamek said. ``We've had graffiti more than one time at Littlerock. They seem to have one good hit at least every year,'' Oamek said. School officials have not compiled statistics but say the incidence of graffiti and vandalism has gone down 85 percent since the cameras were installed about three months ago. Student fights and truancy also have decreased. ``We seem to be able to keep a much calmer campus with them knowing surveillance is going on all the time,'' said Marv Tinder, director of security. The enhanced security on campus is helping students in their academic endeavors as well, Vice Principal Brent Woodard said. ``It adds another sense of security for students and adds to higher learning higher learning n. Education or academic accomplishment at the college or university level. ,'' Woodard said. ``If they feel safe, they'll do better in school.'' Woodward said the cameras should not be considered a Big Brother operation whose goal is to try to catch kids doing things. ``It's preventative,'' Woodard said. ``It's not Big Brother watching you. I want to prevent it. Just don't do it on campus, or we'll catch you.'' The heart of the operation is a tiny, windowless room on campus where security staff monitor two television screens that show the images beamed in from the three cameras. The cameras cover the commons lunch area, the student parking lot, faculty parking lot, student ball court area and the satellite campus of the continuation Desert Winds High School. The camera in the commons area is encased en·case tr.v. en·cased, en·cas·ing, en·cas·es To enclose in or as if in a case. en·case  ment n. in a dark glass ball and
is the only one that records in color. That makes it easier for school
officials to distinguish students in a crowd.
``The kids all know where (the cameras) are,'' Tinder said. The cameras allows staff to view events in real time and provides time-lapsed recording. Once the camera helped settle a dispute with a parent who insisted her son was not in a fight. She changed her mind after she was shown the video, officials said. Sheriff's Deputy Paul Pfrehm, the liaison deputy at Littlerock, said the cameras have contributed to a drop in graffiti vandalism and fights. ``It provides an element of security. Students know they are there. They tend to behave more appropriately when they know they are being monitored,'' Pfrehm said. ``It's useful for the detection and suppression of crime, and it gives the students a feeling of security.'' |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion