Tracking kids

A new fad in security is tracking kids. Various school districts have started tracking students using biometric technology or devices that scan ID badges. The technology keeps track of students as they enter and leave school facilities and school buses.

Bruce Schneier doesn't think very much of the idea.

What’s going on here? Have these people lost their minds? Tracking kids as they get on and off school buses is a ridiculous idea. It’s expensive, invasive, and doesn’t increase security very much.

Schneier identifies five considerations that need to be kept in mind whenever a security measure is considered.

What assets are you trying to protect?

Children

What are the risks to these assets?

Loss of the child

How well does the security solution mitigate those risks?

Not very well. The system will record whether kids got on and off the bus, and when and where they did so. This information will help (maybe) narrow down a time and place where the kid went missing. (I say "maybe" because of a factor Bruce didn't mention: In the case of the systems that track ID badges, kids are notorious for losing things. A kid who leaves his badge behind on the bus will not register as having left the bus, no matter where he leaves it. You could program the system to "beep" when it registered a badge, and stop any kid who didn't register. Of course, this quits working if you have a crowd running through the exit.)

What other risks does the security solution cause?

Bruce mentions the data being gathered and stored. Is it stored? Where is it stored? Who has access to it? Another possible problem is what's known as "risk homeostasis". A sophisticated security system is installed, and people let their guard down.

What costs and trade-offs does the security solution impose?

Money is obvious. A less tangible cost Bruce cites is that kids will grow up accustomed to the fact that their every move will be watched.

He does mention one area where tracking kids as they get on and off school buses will increase security:

If a kidnapping occurs on school property, the subsequent investigation could easily hurt school officials. They could even lose their jobs. If you view this security countermeasure as one protecting them just as much as it protects children, it suddenly makes more sense. The trade-off might not be worth it in general, but it’s worth it to them.

I could easily imagine teachers' unions pushing for this system for that reason. Teachers' unions aren't nearly as interested in what benefits students as they are in what benefits teachers. After all, it's the teachers, not the students, who pay union dues.