When we think of uses for surveillance video, it is often in past tense. Surveillance footage creates an audit trail that helps people identify, clarify or substantiate what happened in an incident after the fact. But what about prevention? It’s important to remember that when surveillance video is monitored, it becomes an extremely powerful tool for proactive protection.
Monitored surveillance video provides businesses, organizations and institutions with the ability to see and potentially stop criminal behavior, even in remote places on their property, in real time. It gives a single person the ability to be a set of eyes—a witness to a crime in progress—in multiple locations, including those that may otherwise not be visible. In a terrifying example, an alleged rape attempt in the back stairwell of a Maryland high school was thankfully thwarted this past April due to the school’s use of monitored video surveillance cameras.
As reported by DelmarvaNow, police said that the surveillance footage showed a 15-year-old male student leading a female student into a back stairwell and then trying to kiss her while she fought him to prevent it. The assault amplified and continued for approximately 10 minutes. The male student then aggressively tried to remove the female’s clothing and expose his genitals, while she continued to try to fight him off. His actions during the assault included pulling her hair, choking her and pinning her against the floor, stairwell and wall. While it is unclear whether or not staff continuously monitor the surveillance video, a staff member saw the assault taking place on a monitor in the high school’s office and ran to the back stairwell to stop the incident.
Thankfully the female student was able to hold her own for a long enough period of time that the staff member was able to intervene. However, without the cameras—and more specifically, without someone monitoring the video in the office—it is likely there could have been a different outcome. As more and more schools, businesses and organizations try to find money in their already tight budgets for increased security, measures such as surveillance systems should be prioritized. This story is a shining example of the benefits outweighing the initial investment. Even if there is not a fulltime staff member dedicated to monitoring video output, there is still a much greater chance of an incident similar to this being prevented if surveillance equipment is visible and prevalent.
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