Recording live: Remsen school to install security cameras

You can just go to Remsen-Union School.

By next week, the school will install seven video surveillance cameras around the school.

Two video cameras will be installed outside and five will be put at various locations in the building.

"This is just as an additional security so we can be proactive. It's something we can follow up on," said Superintendent Ken Howard. "I think we do a nice job of teaching (our students) and I hope we can keep them secure by serving them like this."

Howard said the installation of the cameras is not in response to any direct situation.

"We just didn't want to put in after an incident," he said. "It's commonplace now for people to be putting them in. We're at a time in our lives when the reality is that we have technology to help keep us safe."

The video from the cameras is captured on a live feed and preserved for a period of time, Howard said.

"Building security was a concern that came up during needs assessment done a couple years ago," Howard said.

Stakeholders including parents, staff members and others involved in the school were part of that assessment.

Also in response to their concerns, Remsen-Union installed video cameras on school buses.

"We haven't had any major reason for them, but there have been times we've taken a look at them to see what happened," Howard said.

The system, he said, will be almost unnoticeable.

Teachers and other employees of the district think the cameras are a great idea, Howard added.

"It's just another tool to ensure safety for our staff," he said.

Jan Beck, a parent whose daughter attends Remsen-Union High School, said she didn't think installing video surveillance cameras was a bad idea.

"If kids know they're there, it might be a deterrent," she said.

She also thought it would help the school authorities do their job.

"It's good because someone can't always physically be in every hall, nook or cranny," Beck said. "It's a measure of protection. Every little thing they do is a good thing."

She didn't think the school officials were being over-watchful.

"I think they want nothing more than to keep the kids safe," Beck said. "I don't think you can err on the side of being too safe."

Remsen-Union isn't a pioneer in adding video surveillance. Several schools in the county have been using them for years.

Kingsley-Pierson superintendent Scott Bailey said cameras were installed at their schools one year ago.

"They've been very helpful," he said. "They can provide evidence of things that happen."

About four years ago, Bailey said, someone broke into the school and vandalized the kitchen.

"Since we put up the cameras, we haven't had a break-in," he said.

Hinton Community School is in the process of adding cameras inside and outside the buildings, according to Superintendent Al Steen.

"It's to help secure the building and ensure the safety of our students," he said. "We haven't had any safety issues."

At Le Mars Community Schools, security cameras have been installed on the outside of both the middle school and high school for years, Superintendent Todd Wendt said.

"We put some new ones on middle school last year with new addition," he added.

The cameras are designed to "keep track of the outside of the building," Wendt said, adding that indoor security cameras have come up several times during his years at the school.

"But it's never been anything we've seriously considered," he said.

Akron-Westfield superintendent Ron Flynn said the school system has both surveillance cameras and a motion detector that turns on the lights -- that way someone entering the school in the dark will be caught on camera.

"If something were to happen on the weekend, say somebody comes into the building to cause mischief, we'd get some evidence as to who it was," he said. "It's not hard to get people to admit to something when you have it right on tape."

Schools using surveillance cameras:

Sioux City