PLANS to link closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance systems in six problem schools across the island to the national camera surveillance programme, JamaicaEye, have been halted indefinitely as officials iron out finer details.

In May of this year, director of the safety and security in schools unit Richard Troupe told the Jamaica Observer that a decision had been made to put extra eyes on the grounds of the Grange Hill High School in Westmoreland, Hopewell High in Hanover, Oracabessa High in St Mary, Papine High in St Andrew, Denham Town in Kingston and the Eltham High school in St Catherine, informed by the education ministry’s ongoing audit of CCTV surveillance system in schools as well as its critical incident investigations. He said the “frequency” with which officials have been “called to treat with particular matters such as fights, a proliferation of weapons, breaches in the perimeter fencing and smoking and gambling in some spaces”, had triggered the approach.

However, addressing the weekly Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange this week, Troupe said while the cameras are being installed, linking the systems will not materialise in the short term.

“Our intention was to ensure that at least one or two of the cameras would be pointing to the road and then we would link those cameras to JamaicaEye, but we had to step back a bit because we need to formalise that type of action,” Troupe told the Observer.

Asked to elaborate he said, “it requires policy directives and so the cameras now that are being installed will focus primarily within the campus and to the entrance or exit points so that those areas would be covered but not beyond the perimeter to the road itself because it requires a different kind of conversation”.

“I can’t give a timeline because it is something that will be considered especially in the context of the Road Traffic Act and the new regulations it will be important that we are also able to track even vehicular traffic as they pass the vicinity of schools,” Troupe said.

In the meantime, he said the service providers for each school have already been selected.

“They are now in dialogue with the providers, some schools have paid over the deposit required. So they are at different stages but all schools are in receipt of funds and the process is expected to be completed as a matter of urgency,” he told the Observer.

He said the total budget for the CCTV surveillance systems in the six schools amounted to $ 15 million, but pointed out that the sum per school would be roughly about the same because of the size of the school in some cases and the number of blind spots in the school.

In the meantime, the safety and security in schools unit director said all 180 high schools in the island now have hand-held metal detectors.

“Even schools that did not have a problem where hand-held detectors would have been required have asked us for the equipment to be made available and those were provided. In the past they had never asked but have now asked in the context of what is happening,” Troupe said.