Some East County school administrators hope video cameras will prevent crime and violence on campus. A dozen high schools have roughly 300 high-tech cameras monitoring student activity. KPBS reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.
The Grossmont Union High School District installed about 20 surveillance cameras at each of its 12 campuses. They're strategically located at each school and can zoom-in from far away to capture faces and license plates. School police say they've already caught students on tape fighting and stealing. Terry Kemper is the principal at Grossmont High School. She says the cameras gather valuable evidence.
Kemper : And if kids aren't telling us something, and if something happens that we don't know about, that's when we can go back and replay incidents to solve the problems. What did happen, and how do we need to follow up?
Six years ago, a couple of school shootings in which two people died rocked the district. Students say they do feel more protected with the cameras, but hope schools officials won't just rely on them for campus security.
Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
