According to the most recent statistics available from the U.S. Department of Education, during the 2005-06 school year, 86 percent of public schools nationwide reported that one or more serious violent incidents, thefts, or other crimes had occurred at their schools, for a total of roughly 2.2 million crimes. That works out to about one crime reported for every 20 students.
The issue of installing CCTV cameras in schools has been widely ebated since many school administrators are looking into installing security cameras in their districts. It is an important issue because CCTV cameras would be an unnecessary expense and would promote an atmosphere of distrust in the schools. Although school administrators want to keep their students safe and cut down on vandalism and theft, CCTV cameras should not be installed in schools because CCTV cameras decrease teachers' and students' self-esteem, they cause teachers and students to act unnaturally, and the cost and maintenance are high.