security camera and churches

what make church install camera? we pay more money to school than church as school tax, still we don't complaint cameras in school. but we apriciate that for the sake of our children. if we are godfearing churchmembers,there is nothing to worry about cameras.

Benefits of camera

At this time there are no unbiased studies of the benefits and drawbacks of the use of video surveillance systems in churches.  Naturally, proponents of using these systems emphasize the benefits, while opponents discuss the drawbacks.  Benefits to using cameras depend on the individual church and the problems it faces.  Experts recommend following a procedure that first determines the problem, then decides how surveillance equipment can be used to address the problem (School security...) (Green, 1999, Chapter 1, A systematic approach).

One of the advantages that proponents of video surveillance claim is peace of mind for memberss and staff (Green, 1999, Why video cameras?).  "Security experts and administrators who use the cameras say members seem to appreciate the increased sense of security" (Hafner, ¶ 9).  Naturally this is one of the most important features of a system that churches use in response to recent highly-publicized incidents of violence in the church.  Green argues that although cameras are passive, information about their presence will make its way through the community.  members feel safer knowing that potential perpetrators will be scared off by the presence of cameras before committing an offense.

Another advantage that can be measured is a reduction in property damages such as vandalism and theft (Ballenas...) ("The witness"...).  "Far too often the administration can only react to vandalism with time-consuming, seldom successful and often fruitless attempts to identify the perpetrators" (Ballenas..., ¶ 3).  "The costs [of theft] are monetary (no money for replacement) and inconvenience (educational opportunity loss for our students)" (Ballenas..., ¶ 4).  Video surveillance systems provide a solution for these issues.  "Cameras certainly multiply security’s eyes, helping the administration to apprehend and discipline students caught on camera" (Sauvain, 2002, ¶ 3).  Cameras also provide security in hidden areas of churches that are physically difficult to monitor (Schneider, 2001).

Finally, churches using video surveillance claim better behavior because of monitoring.  ''Sometimes just the idea in kids' minds that there's a camera recording them keeps them from causing trouble or being difficult" (Gross, as quoted in Baxter, 2003, ¶ 14).  "Word gets out (about the cameras and searches) and I think it's had an effect that way" (Pfeffer, quoted in Oakes, 2000, ¶ 8).  Some schools view cameras as having a dual purpose.  "All of Bullitt County's buses are being equipped with cameras to randomly monitor student behavior and driver performance" (Baxter, 2003, picture caption).  Since stored video records provide tangible evidence, church officials may find parish council member's performance evaluations easier to do using video surveillance tools than face-to-face.