After more than two years of planning, every Wake County (N.C.) school district bus will have security cameras installed inside to try to deter problems caused by misbehaving students.
The Raleigh News & Observer reports that crews will place surveillance cameras in 75 Wake County school buses this week; by the end of June, the district hopes to have added cameras to 740 vehicles.
The $1.7 million project is an effort to cut down on behavior and bullying issues that make some students reluctant to ride and cause some drivers to quit.
The district began testing the use of cameras in buses in March 2015. A total of 102 buses now have cameras.
The school board set aside money in November 2015 to install cameras on the remaining buses.
Each bus will have four cameras, a digital video recorder and a secure wireless connection. The cameras are positioned to provide complete coverage of the interior of the bus, including the rear area where the driver is less likely to see what’s happening.
In addition to recording the students and driver, the new system provides vehicle data such as global positioning location, speed and what signals were being used.
The video captured on buses can be downloaded wirelessly by school officials.
Video from WTVD-TV:
