Pilfering leads to calls for increased camera surveillance in schools
Expensive bikes and clothing items disappear during lessons
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Schools in the Greater Helsinki area are pushing for the possibility of getting more closed-circuit TV cameras on their corridors.
The reasons are not simply to prevent vandalism but also to cut down on losses of the pupils' belongings. Police are regularly called to schools in the region to clear up the disappearance of clothes, pocket-money, and mobile phones. Bicycles are stolen from schoolyards.
Schoolchildren these days increasingly have items in their possession that are valuable and have a real attraction to thieves, so the risks are growing, believe the police. Pupils have been urged to make a formal report on all mysterious disappearances, as without this there is little that can be done.
Even with the arrival of the police, few of the cases get solved unless there is a clear suspect.
The call for increased CCTV camera presence has come from many school principals. At present some 16 schools out of the 140 in the Greater Helsinki area have a EUR 15,000 camera surveillance system installed on corridors within the school. Courtyards are watched by cameras in half of the schools.
Thus far the main limitation has been money. Cameras have been installed only where the cost of doing so and the destruction or losses that have already occurred make it a reasonable proposition.
Different schools have adopted a variety of procedures to cut down on the petty thefts. Doors have been locked and parents have been sent notes urging them to advise pupils not to bring valuables with them to school.
Actual school property, such as classroom computers and the like, is generally well-protected.
Locked cupboards or lockers are a cost-effective way of protecting pupils' property, but they are not available for everyone or in all schools. The obstacles are a mixture of space restrictions and cost.
School insurance policies do not extend to pupils' belongings. These days nearly all school pupils will have a mobile phone along with them, and many also carry an iPod or other mp3 player. Both items are eminently re-sellable on the black market.
In Vantaa, the average pupil's wallet will also contain a city card used to pay for school meals, plus a library card. Many will also have a bus smart-card, an ATM card, and money.
In most cases thefts that take place within the schools themselves can be put down to the acts of other pupils, but expensive bicycles that disappear from school playgrounds and yards are a target of organised gangs, who will carry heavy equipment to break locks.
Helsingin Sanomat
