Abstract
It's Monday morning and a child in Newcastle arrives at school, places her finger on the scanner until she hears an electronic voice crackle into life to acknowledge her. In Sydney, a wall-mounted CCTV camera records a 12-year old boy entering a classroom and taking his seat. Whilst this might sound like an Orwellian prophecy, it is becoming the reality in an increasing number of schools across Australia as surveillance technologies become more common. But why are CCTV cameras and biometrics being used in schools and what are the issues that we should be aware of?