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Security cameras at GHS? Ken Borsuk / Greenwich Post | February 9 2006 Security cameras in the student center could become a daily reality for Greenwich High School (GHS) students if the Board of Education has its way. At a Feb. 2 work session, board members said they supported a proposal by Superintendent of Schools Larry Leverett to expand an existing program and install new cameras inside the student center and outside the school as part of an overall effort to improve school security and cut down on fights and vandalism. “I think sensibilities have changed and we’ve all changed our attitudes toward safety and security,” board chairman Colleen Giambo said. “We’re a little bit more cautious and wanting to have things nailed down a little bit more. If you go into gas station stores you’re on TV or in airports. There are all places we go regularly where there are cameras and generally it doesn’t bother us. These are public places and there’s a safety factor involved. I would support expanded use at the schools.” “I’m certainly more concerned with security than I am with the privacy issue,” board member Steven LoParco added. Dr. Leverett made clear, though, the cameras would not be installed in areas where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy such as bathrooms, locker rooms, classrooms and private offices. Board member Susan Ellis said she hoped the cameras would not become too obtrusive to student life. “We’re trying to help them become responsible adults and I don’t like the idea of we’re suddenly going to start treating them like children,” Dr. Ellis said. The recommendations came after the district received a report from the Mount Vernon, N.Y. security firm, N.J.B, Security Services, to follow up on a 2004 Greenwich Police Department security evaluation of the high school. Both evaluations determined the school’s exterior doors were not secure and were too often left unlocked. The firm recommended an upgrade to digital security systems over what was termed “inadequate and ineffective security/surveillance systems.” The existing system, which was donated by the GHS PTA, is set up for exterior surveillance only and includes seven cameras and a video recorder with storage capacity for 10 days of footage. The report criticized the current system for poor resolution and limited recording capacity and for leaving major sections of the parking lots, entrances and grounds without adequate surveillance. Dr. Leverett said most of the recommendations would be addressed over the next several months, but not until a lot more discussion about the possibility of installing the cameras. He said he understood people might need to be convinced about the merits of the idea. He said the board should solicit more information from “people who do this for a living” as part of the discussion. However Dr. Leverett said he wasn’t in favor of bringing GHS students into the discussion. “I would not discuss this with the students,” Dr. Leverett said. “This is not a matter of student discussion.” Board member William Kelly countered, saying, “It’s a matter of students being informed. I think we should have a discussion with the kids about why we’re thinking of this and why we’d want to do it. We have to give the students a rationale.” Board member Steven Anderson suggested more of an explanation for the students and less of a discussion might work. “One of the last things we want is for students to think they’re in a police state,” Mr. Anderson said. Data from the GHS security log was released at the work session. Over the first semester in the 2005-06 school year there were 93 reported incidents of theft, 30 of vandalism, 24 fights, 51 incidents of disorderly conduct, 25 trespassing incidents and seven which specifically involved drugs and alcohol. Dr. Ellis asked GHS Headmaster Alan Capasso, who attended the work session, how many of the theft and vandalism incidents were perpetuated by GHS students or people entering the school and Mr. Capasso said he believed the “vast majority” were done by students. Board members had their own concerns about security at GHS beyond reported incidents. “When I visited the school yesterday some students who did not appear to be seniors were walking out of the science wing and left a pebble to keep the door open,” Dr. Ellis said. “They went into a car that had dark, tinted windows that you couldn’t see into and I found myself wondering if that was acceptable.” Mr. Anderson joked it was acceptable if they were part of the power napping club and Mr. Capasso said the what Dr. Ellis had witnessed was “not something we want to see.” While students are allowed to leave the building, currently only seniors are allowed to leave school property during the day. Mr. Capasso admitted he would be less than candid if he said no other students left. “One of our big concerns is the fact we would like to see a single point of access to the campus,” Mr. Capasso said. “Right now we have four to five entrances and exits to the campus. Our thinking is after the arrival of the buses we would shut down all entrances to the campus and have a security person at one entrance. This would monitor people coming onto campus and it would allow us to monitor students leaving.” Board member Leslie Moriarty advised Mr. Capasso if he wanted to fight for this policy, to make clear why he did. “Is it really to protect students from outside instances or is it keeping students from breaking regulations?” Mrs. Moriarty asked. Mr. Capasso said both components were part of it. “We’ve had the rocks in the doors as long as the school has been there,” Mr. Kelly said. “We’ve got to resolve the problem one way or the other. Certain doors have to be open so either we do something with security there or we install some kind of swipe card system to open the doors.” Mr. Capasso, when asked directly by Dr. Leverett, said he didn’t feel the campus should be closed and if it was going to be open it might as well be open to kids as young as sophomores because the reality was they would leave anyway, a notion backed up by Mr. Kelly. Mr. Capasso said the purpose of having a single entrance would not be just to enforce the seniors-only policy of leaving school because he felt it was ultimately unenforceable. There is no additional money in the 2006-07 school budget for more security personnel. GHS Assistant Headmaster Richard Piotrzkowski said the report came out after the budget had already been submitted and approved by the Board of Education. The school budget is currently before the Board of Estimate and Taxation’s Budget Committee for review. Mr. Piotrzkowski said as a matter of past policy, school security was detailed as needed around the campus, particularly around areas with high incident rates known as “hot spots.” Mr. Capasso added security officers had fluid assignments which could easily be changed. When asked what he wanted to see most, Mr. Capasso said he wanted better supervision of the security staff to make sure they are where they have been deployed. He praised the staff for handling situations that arise and making sure the students get to know and trust them but said there had to be more consistency. Dr. Leverett said in addition to the recommendations there would also be increased evaluation of the high school’s security staff. Ellen Flanagan, the district’s director of human resources, said the existing evaluation process, which had not been examined in some time, was “extremely poor.” “The evaluation of security staff is inconsistent,” Dr. Leverett said. “There are a number of things we need to tighten up and we can improve upon and help us make good decisions about whether to retain a person or to suggest they should pursue other alternatives. There’s some cleanup to do.” The recommendations came after a two-year look into school security, with a particular concentration on the high school. Dr. Leverett said he was not trying to create concerns about problems that weren’t there. “Greenwich High School is a school that is commonly viewed as a safe place for students and adults,” Dr. Leverett said. “We are not reacting to crises and do not have a sense of things being out of control. We believe our school is as safe, if not safer, than high schools across America. This interest in improving security is not something we see as a knee jerk reaction to fix a bad situation. We have a good situation at Greenwich High School. Our interest is in doing what we are responsible to do in order to protect the safety and well being of our students, staff and all the community members who use our campus." ---------------------------------------------------
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