In an attempt to make Fort Frances High School a safer environment for students, 16 security cameras have been installed in hallways and other public access areas throughout the school.
The project cost about $40,000.
FFHS principal Terry Ellwood is confident putting the cameras in the hallways is a proactive measure.
“We want the students to know that this is not a reaction to things that they have done wrong,” he noted. “It’s a reaction to incidents that have happened in other schools.”
It’s hoped having the cameras in place will deter people from vandalizing the new school, as well as to keep people out who do not have any educational reason to be inside.
“We want to keep people out if they are there to cause trouble,” Ellwood said. “The main reason behind this is to make sure that our students are safe because that is our first priority.”
He also noted the cameras won’t be used to bust students for breaking rules such as the no-hat policy.
“The idea isn’t to be able to see every single thing that students do,” he stressed. “It’s to ensure they are safe while they are here and they are able to concentrate on their education.”
The cameras will be rolling anytime anyone is inside the building. During school hours, a live feed goes directly into the main office but Ellwood wants to ensure the students aren’t being stared at every second of the school day.
“I could go look at the monitor screen right now and see someone breaking a rule by wearing a hat or being in the hall without a pass but that isn’t why we have the cameras here,” he said.
“I still think that the best way to enforce those rules is by having teachers supervise the hallways, which is something that is not going to change.”
“We are trying to be proactive and take preventive measures here,” Ellwood concluded.
“There are terrible things happening in schools all over North America, and even in Europe, and we want to be sure that nothing like that happens here,” he pledged.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
