The American way in San Francisco, CA has always been about people playing to their strengths. Unfortunately, in some cases, without proper parental guidance, some children play to their strengths by exploiting their comparative strength and using it to bully weaker children.

Bullying in San Francisco, CA continues to be a fact of life for many schools and school children. But that doesn’t mean it’s something that should be tolerated because “it’s always been there.” Bullying hurts both the victims and the bully, sending both on a negative path in life.

Prevention Matters

Middle school is the time when bullying is often at the greatest risk of occurring. Children are only beginning to learn their potential, and they often fail to understand the full ramifications of actions they take, such as using violence and intimidation to get their way when other means fail.

However, bullies also know that what they are doing isn’t approved of, and rarely bully other children openly, in front of adults who can immediately reprimand them. To succeed at bullying, these children will choose the busiest times, such as recess, lunch, and after school, when activity is bustling, and teachers can’t be everywhere at once. Security cameras can step in.

The Eye That Sees

One of the biggest advantages to a security camera in school is prevention. Children very quickly understand that the best way to stay out of trouble is to leave no evidence behind. If a child claims to be bullied, but no one can back up that story, the bully understands just how unreliable “my word against yours” can be.

A camera, however, completely negates the unreliability of testimony. Even if a bully’s friends all claim the other child struck first, if the bully attacks in front of a camera, there is no way to deny what happened. It is the perfect witness, either corroborating or disproving claims.

Reducing Threats

Once cameras are placed in areas where bullying has taken place, bullying drops. The camera is now a deterrent, preventing student offenses from even taking place once people realize the role it plays in leading to their punishment.

It can even play an investigative role, helping the school to piece together the truth. For example, if a bully claims he was never near a victim, and the bullying itself took place in the one blind spot where no camera was present, the story may not hold up. A quick investigation can show the bully, appearing on other cameras, making his way to the blind spot where the other child was victimized, so even if one camera doesn’t successfully capture bullying, movements of a bully can be tracked, on others. This can even be used to investigate denials of truancy if students claim they haven’t left the property.

Bullying in San Francisco, CA doesn’t have to be tolerated, unchecked and undisciplined. With a new school year coming up shortly, maybe now is the time for your school to consider upgrading its security system to get some peace of mind and help reduce the amount of bullying in the years to come.