Camera in the Bathroom

[harmonyhorsegrl]

Since you're all East-coasters, you probably didn't hear, but a boy's family was sued for dimantling a camera inside of a men's restroom at his school. The school claimed it was to track down bathroom taggers, but others say it's wrong to have camera's in a restroom, so therefore, he had a right.


Waht do you think? Did he have a right to dimatle the camera?

[CountessRachel]

Er...we're not all East-coasters. There are people from all over the country (and the world) in this forum.

To DIS-mantle the camera? Well. It's illegal video tape or photograph people in the bathroom. It's an invasion of privacy. I'm not so sure about the parents having the actual right to physically dismantle the camera as it was school property. They should have filed a complaint or taken it to the school board. (Or the kid could have just not used that bathroom).

I can see why the school would want to catch bathroom taggers and that they can't be everywhere at once. But using the potty away from Big Brother is one of the few luxuries we still maintain. The school should have had a hall monitor check the bathrooms periodically or found another way instead.

[harmonyhorsegrl]

Yes, my sister's high school has camera pointed at the doorway to the bathrooms, not directly inside.

[o8jedi]

Well, assuming that it's a public school, and therefore a state-operated facility, the boy could get arrested for destruction of government property. As for invasion of privacy, that only applies to one's residence and private property. Since the camera and the restroom was neither of those to the boy, he's at fault.

Considering the litigious nature of most Americans, the school probably, as mentioned above, pointed the camera at the door to avoid prosecution. Along with medicine, public education takes every measure they can to avoid getting prosecuted. The idea is so that they can narrow down the suspects based on the time they entered the bathroom, what they were carrying, and how long they spent in there. In addition to reports from other bathroom patrons, this can help establish a timeframe. Then, it's just a matter of obtaining warrants, searching for the tools, and dealing with the offenders. No biggie, as far as I'm concerned.

[harmonyhorsegrl]

Yeah, i think having the camera pointed at the bathroom door is a better idea than having it directly inside.

The boy won the case in court, btw.

[bagpipe turtle]

I'm not east coast...?

Anyway, I don't blame that boy for dismantling the camera. I can see the benefits in having cameras filming the rest of the school, but in bathrooms?
That is an invasion of privacy.
Of course, it depends whether the camera was filming people in the stalls, or just the door, or what.

At my school, there is detention if someone catches you writing on the bathroom wall (I don't recall anyone ever getting caught), but no cameras inside the bathrooms. Every other spot in the school is being filmed by a camera. There is only one blind spot I am aware of. I think this is an ideal setup (well, except for the one blind spot), this way they could catch people going in and out of the bathrooms, et cetera; but not violate their privacy by actually filming them inside the bathrooms.

[harmonyhorsegrl]

Yep. Pointing at the door is the way to go, in my opinion. I wouldn't really feel safe inside a cameraed restroom.

[firefists101]

IMO They had every right to go and dismantle that camera. There is no way in the world that a camera should be inside a bathroom. That is a total violation of personal privacy. I know that they were trying to catch taggers, but like you already said, point it at the doorway.

I don't mean to sound paranoid or anything, but there are a lot of perverts and pathetic people out there today. You never know who they may be either. Janiters and coaches-trusted people-are charged with rape and sexual assault everyday. You never know when someone might want to do some dirty work with a simple source like a bathroom camera.

[Consonant***]

firefists101 said:

IMO They had every right to go and dismantle that camera. There is no way in the world that a camera should be inside a bathroom. That is a total violation of personal privacy. I know that they were trying to catch taggers, but like you already said, point it at the doorway.

I don't mean to sound paranoid or anything, but there are a lot of perverts and pathetic people out there today. You never know who they may be either. Janiters and coaches-trusted people-are charged with rape and sexual assault everyday. You never know when someone might want to do some dirty work with a simple source like a bathroom camera.

Chances are, they DID have it pointed at the door.

[firefists101]

^^Ok...I guess I messed up and typed it wrong. I was in a little bit of a hurry. What I meant was have the camera in the doorway or if pointed toward the doorway, out in the hall.

[That Kid Neo]

Knowing that a camera is inside of the bathroom is pretty unsettling. But I hate those security cameras anyway.

[firefists101]

^^Yeah...you and me both. I hate those things.

This is considered spam in CT. Please add more to your posts next time.

[harmonyhorsegrl]

Anyway, The camera was inside the bathroom pointing directly into the bathroom. Not the door. Kinda sick, huh? It was a guys bathroom.
Yes, poiinting it at the door OUTSIDE is a better plan.

[Annapurna1]

first of all..to address the legal issues of privacy ..it depends on whether or not there is a "reasonable expectation of privacy" in a given situation...i would agree with the courts' ruling in the boys' favour in this case..but he would lose hands down if it ever came before the roberts/alito SCOTUS...

second of all..this raises the broader question of whether such a climate of fear and mistrust is really conducive to the childs' education...and personally im more than a little bit skeptical...

[kolibri [thread killer]]

Hmmm...privacy in the bathroom is something one values very much. IMO I think it would depend more on how the camera was positioned and where. But since school is not prison (although it feels like it sometimes), I think security needs to respect peoples' bathroom privacy. I mean, we've had a guy set the bathroom on fire with a clipboard before, but we never had cameras installed in there after that...