Bengaluru Police Issues Notice to Private Schools, Order Installation of Metal Detectors, CCTVs – News18

As a result of notices from the local police department, a number of private schools in Bengaluru are currently running into challenging situations regarding the enforcement of security measures in their institutions. In line with the Karnataka Public Safety (Measures) Enforcement Act of 2017, these notices order the installation of a number of security measures, including door frame metal detectors, handheld detectors and CCTV cameras with a certain resolution across the premises of private schools in the city. In keeping with the definition of “establishments” in the 2017 Act, the notifications state that schools have an ethical and legal responsibility to implement the safety and security measures specified in the statute, as reported by the Times of India.

Although the notice was reported to have been received by a few schools in the Bengaluru South education district on Saturday, school associations anticipate that institutions across all of Bengaluru will receive the directives shortly.

The notices issued required the installation of handheld and door frame metal detectors on the school premises as one of the mandated standards. Additionally, surveillance cameras with a resolution that facilitates covering up to 50 yards must be placed strategically across the campus.

Each institution must designate a minimum of one employee from an outsourcing agency who possesses expertise in operating electronic equipment, such as CCTVs and access control systems, in accordance with the notification’s guidelines. In addition to having a minimum 30-day storage capacity, these cameras must be operational 24/7. The approach areas at the schools’ entry and exit points, as well as any spaces for parking, must be well covered.

Furthermore, the school administration must bear the financial cost of these security measures, and the recorded CCTV footage being preserved as confidential and made available only to authorised staff.

The Times of India quoted D Shashi Kumar, secretary of the Association of Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools of Karnataka, as stating that a very similar rule was introduced in 2014 by the then-police commissioner and that it was challenged in the Karnataka high court. The court had mandated that the Women and Child Welfare Department present a comprehensive protection policy. He maintained that It is “unfair” for police to implement yet another restriction when this policy has been in effect since 2017.