CPS Completes Installation Of Cameras At 14 High Schools
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Public School system has just completed a nearly $7 million project to install high-tech, high-definition security cameras in 14 high schools.
WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports officials showed off the new camera system at Paul Laurence Dunbar Career Academy on the South Side.
"These state-of-the-art cameras could have a dramatic impact on reducing student misconduct," said CPS Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Brizard.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports
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Brizard said CPS is building on the successes they have had at Fenger Academy High School, known in the recent past for incidents involving violence.
"Last year alone, student misconducts at Fenger dropped by 59 percent," Brizard said. "Those cameras provide not only a window into what is happening within the school and within the perimeters of the school, but also assist the Police Department, the 911 Center. We can actually see from our 15th floor of our building what is happening in cafeterias at Fenger High School, and now at Dunbar and many of these community high schools."
According to Brizard, the cameras are backed up by new classroom curriculum, which includes encouraging positive behavior.
"Its effort has already led to a significant reduction in both expulsions – 43 percent fewer – and expulsion hearings – 28 percent," Brizard said.
The camera systems cost about $500,000 per school.
