The present invention relates to video camera units and protective enclosures for video cameras, and in particular, to a video camera unit especially adapted for use in vehicles, for example, school buses. The invention also relates to a power circuit and controller circuit for portable video cameras for use in vehicles.
Video camera units have increasingly been used in vehicles, especially school buses, in order to provide surveillance of the students being transported in the school bus. By using a video camera unit in a school bus, unruly students can be supervised, and it has been found that the mere presences of a video camera unit, or even a non-functional empty enclosure or mock-up of such a unit, is effective in maintaining order on school bus vehicles.