Cameras Keep Eye On Deer Park Bus Riders

Following a nationwide trend, the Deer Park School District has equipped its school buses to carry surveillance cameras.

Deer Park is the latest district in the area to buy into the idea that an extra eye on its buses will mean fewer discipline problems and fewer distractions for drivers.

“Just having the camera on the bus calms them down,” said Ed Dillman, a Deer Park bus driver for 12 years. “They know they are being watched.”

For $2,500, the district bought two cameras and eight decoy cameras from Blaine, Wash.-based Silent Watch, according to a company spokesman.

Several other districts, including Central Valley, Cheney, and District 81, also use surveillance cameras.

There is no hard evidence from District 81 about the effectiveness of the cameras, but a 1992 report from the state Superintendent of Public Instruction recommended using cameras. It based that suggestion on a pilot project in three Puget Sound districts.

That report, signed by officials from Kent, Marysville and Seattle school districts, said “student behavior improved because of the possibility of being accurately recorded for acceptable actions.”

Joe Madsen, District 81 transportation supervisor, said bus drivers and school administrators find the cameras “a valuable tool for student management and for driver education.”

Like most districts, Deer Park bought about four times as many dummy cameras as live ones. The two cameras will be rotated through the fleet.

Tapes will be reviewed at a driver’s request, said Shirley Hobbs, Deer Park transportation supervisor. A sign posted on each bus - live camera or not - warns students that they may be taped.

Hobbs said the possibility of actions being taped will act as a deterrent. And if an incident happens, administrators don’t have to rely on the recollection of a driver who is also operating a 26,000-pound bus.

“Before, you had to rely on the driver,” said Hobbs. “The drivers (now) can keep their eyes on the road.”

Drivers also like having the cameras on board for other reasons, said Dillman.

Potential “sexual problems” - allegations that a bus driver was harassing a student - could be cleared up, and drivers also learn from reviewing discipline incidents.

A “problem” on a Deer Park bus last week gave Hobbs the first cause to review tapes. Watching the tape with her and the driver, the student’s parents, who had been reluctant to believe their child had a discipline problem, were surprised, Hobbs said.

“It was a real eye-opener for the parents,” said Hobbs. “I am real confident that will never happen again.”

, DataTimes