Week 21 - 'Body cams are being trialled in UK schools to keep an eye on students'

'Body cams are being trialled in UK schools to keep an eye on students'
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/body-cams-are-coming-to-uk-schools

• Two schools in the UK are trialling the use of body cams worn by teachers to monitor student behaviour and protect them from abuse
• The wearable cameras are being trialled as both a means to deter bad behaviour and also as an opportunity to record positive learning within the classroom. The footage will then be stored on a cloud server, similar to the type used by UK police forces
• A study conducted by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers found that 43 per cent of educational staff had to deal with physical violence from pupils in 2015
• Ellis assures that “filming [in schools] only occurs when it is legitimate, proportionate and necessary” and that the body cams are not to be used as a “surveillance camera”.
• Harvard Law Review in 2015 stated that the use of body cams by American police shows a move towards an “increasingly militarised” state, which may pose a “threat to civilian privacy”. Using body cams in the classroom is arguably another step towards a fully-fledged surveillance state.

The issue with teachers wearing cameras is the clear ethical debate of privacy. The idea of becoming a militarised state is increasingly worrying as it becomes a society where your every move is being watched. Although these cameras are said to only be implemented when necessary, the issue of hacking has increased rapidly which therefore poses a threat for potential hackers to hack into these servers and get private information. There are several issues with privacy and ethical concerns in general.