In a perfect world, only the supervisor has access to the SD card files within the locked DVR, ensuring the proper chain of custody for video file evidence should it be required in a court case as an expert witness. However, in our not-perfect world, several people can access video files, including the drivers in some cases. This determination of who gets the keys to the kingdom of video evidence is usually made by the district Superintendents, Transportation Directors or supervisors who manage the systems and their memory files when needed for verification of events at that occurred on school buses. In some cases, convenience drivers are permitted dot have the keys for the DVR locks that house the memory devices, and when this is the case, any defense attorney worth his salt (Salt was payment for Roman soldiers in case you were wondering) can bring into question the veracity of said video evidence or worse yet when the driver actions are suspect if the evidence is somehow missing it provides the appearance of impropriety whether true or false.
The only sure way to protect the driver’s integrity and the evidence admissibility is to prevent access from the persons that in some cases, are suspected of doing something wrong, the drivers, by removing their access completely from the evidence memory files.
Chain of Custody examples:
Police Patrol Wagon Suspect, Prisoner & Inmate in-Custody Transport Camera-equipped vehicles occasionally have the transport questioned and the only way to protect the officers is for them NOT to have the key to access the DVR files.
Elderly Day Care Shuttle & Assisted Living Transportation Vehicle Video Camera equipped shuttle vehicles often have perception issues. Some passengers may be on mind-altering medication, so what they perceive may not be what happened. The only way to prove the actual transport facts is for the drivers who may be in question NOT to have the key to access the DVR files.
Alternative School & Juvenile Detention Bus Security Camera equipped vehicles are filled with passengers who are not happy to be there and often have a past proven history of behavioral issues, if not criminal proclivities. Their view of the drivers are often adversarial, so to prove the truth of what may happen during transport, the driver cannot be permitted access to the video file evidence to protect them from potential questions of impropriety.,
Can parents request school bus cameras’ video files on incidents involving their children?
Of course, they can request to see relevant video file videos of their children and others interacting. It will be the decision of the district school board and superintendent of supervisors as to their willingness to share these video files with the parents. I also advise our customers Not to provide video clips as video clips have audio tracks; in some cases, they can be detrimental to the cause of resolving a simple situation or event.
Examples where video files can cause problems for the drivers:
Transportation Ministry Youth Activities Church Bus Camera System equipped buses or shuttle vans used to move children from church-sponsored event to event might have an instance where a child is accused of grabbing another neck. To prove the point, the church may provide the partners a video clip of the incident. (ABV recommends a JPEG image file only when proving physical contact). The video clips have an audio file, so in the background, a driver may say something insensitive or potentially threatening to a child to get them to behave so they may focus on the road and not the incident going on behind them. The parents hearing these comments may seek criminal charges against the driver or the church in this litigious crazed world we now live in.
Head Start Pre-K Pre-School Nursery School Child Safety Bus Camera Recorder systems on vehicles transporting very young children often face children that may not be as socialized as others. They do not know how to interact with other children in a socially acceptable manner yet, and in some cases, the drivers are playing babysitters and referees while driving. When these children interact, argue and get into physical conflicts, the drivers must step in and pull them apart from a fight. In some cases, the drivers may use harsh language or say something insensitive. In cases like this it is best not to provide others outside the company with the video clips as the audio files could pose a financial and legal risk to the company. Before & After Care School Child Day Care Pickup In-vehicle Shuttle Safety Cameras operate in a similar fashion protecting the transportation against false claims.
Can police access the school bus cameras’ video file information?
All applications involving school bus cameras incorporate a key lock on the memory storage of the DVR. Even those Low Cost Affordable School Bus Camera Systems have a mechanism to prevent unauthorized video file storage access.
One way the police can lawfully access the video file evidence, for example, on a Special Needs Wheelchair School Bus Video Surveillance Camera Systems equipped bus, would be for the district to volunteer the video file memory source of the police.
In cases where something bad may have occurred on an Alternative School & Juvenile Detention Bus, Security Camera equipped vehicle and the district is hesitant to volunteer the video file evidence of the police, the police could get a judge to issue a subpoena to require the district to provide the video file memory storage device from their School Bus Child Safety Camera system.
Do school administrators share the school bus cameras’ information with parents?
School district administration and staff are free to do what they choose with the video files created by the Affordable School Bus Camera systems we provide. ABV Advises our customers NOT to provide video clips of incidents on the bus to prove “Tommy choked Johnnie” when in most cases, a single screenshot image will prove the physical contact.
The problem with school bus camera recording system video clips is that the file has an audio track that can capture comments made by the driver in a moment of heightened tension and emotional frustration that could be misunderstood.
This audio track on a video clip potential issue is true for other applications of these Vehicle Video Camera Recorder systems.
For example, Non-Emergency Medical Transit Camera Surveillance Systems often transport passengers for medical treatments at a clinic or hospital. Some may be on multiple mind-altering medications that can make a clear judgment and understanding difficult. In cases where they may say something and the drivers respond to them, they may need to see the video clip and hear the exchange to understand that what they believed was a perception issue and the driver acted professionally.
For example, Before & After Care School Child Day Care Pickup In-vehicle Shuttle Safety Camera equipped shuttle vehicles have young children on the vehicle, and it is common for these children may shout, scream and become a distraction to the driver, who in their stressed mental state may make and adult comment to the children to try to get them to behave and not be a safe driving distraction. Often a figure of speech is overlooked among adults, but those same adults may take offense when a stranger makes the same comment to their child.
