Jamaica’s three main universities are shelling out about $107 million annually on campus security in an effort to counter the risk of harm to staff and students and the theft of personal and university assets, a Sunday Observer survey has found.

The abduction at gunpoint of University of the West Indies lecturer and talk show host Kingsley ‘Ragashanti’ Stewart on the Mona campus two weeks ago brought into focus the problem of security at the island’s premier educational institution. For years, the campus has been plagued by theft, robbery and assault, forcing the administration to regularly adjust its security strategy.

According to Joseph Pereira, deputy principal of the UWI Mona, since the Stewart incident, foot patrols have been extended in three faculties outside of the medical faculty. He also said the university was seeking to fast-track a planned surveillance camera system, and that three cameras with central monitoring have already been installed as part of a pilot programme.

Pereira, who chairs the committee on campus security, said the bill for securing the campus is about $65 million for the year. He said despite efforts to sensitise students living on the campus about security, some still had bad habits like leaving their doors unlocked.

“Of course, we’re asking people to be a bit more observant, as some people tend to go around without being aware of what’s happening around them from a security point of view”, he said.

The University of Technology (UTech) spent $28 million on security in the last academic year, corporate communications manager Hector Wheeler told the Sunday Observer.

The institution, located on Old Hope Road almost in Papine Square, employs a mix of electronic and human resources to secure the campus.

“We have been using technology, we have surveillance cameras, access systems and emergency lighting as well as manpower campus-wide,” Wheeler said.

UTech has two gates for vehicular traffic – the main gate from Old Hope Road, and a ‘back’ gate – as well as another smaller access point for pedestrians.

In recent years, the institution has implemented a system to prevent car theft.

“We do some tracking of cars entering and exiting, and we have ways of viewing both persons and vehicles, especially in sensitive areas of the campus, leaving the campus just to ensure assets are intact. There are panic systems as well,” Wheeler said.

UTech, he added, also relies on the awareness of its students and staff to prevent incidents of crime.

“The general awareness and intelligence of our stakeholders is important, that is, how do we sensitise persons to protect themselves on and off campus,” Wheeler said.

These efforts include orientation of new students to the environment, and the development of “buddyship” systems in which students are encouraged not to venture on or off campus alone.

Staff and students have also been asked to volunteer as wardens to assist with the safety of the campus. “They have done training sessions in first aid and CPR so they can respond and help others in the event of a fire or an earthquake,” Wheeler disclosed.

To prevent car theft, hold-ups and other crimes, students and staff are required to wear their IDs so that persons without legitimate business on the campus can be more easily identified. Despite this, troublemakers sometimes make their way on campus, Wheeler admitted.

“It’s a public place, so you don’t want it over-policed,” he said, “but persons who don’t have a reason to be on campus will find themselves inconvenienced, to put it mildly.”

He said the nearby Papine police respond quickly when called.

With a student register of 8,803 (full- and part-time), and just over 1,000 academic and non-academic staff, securing the UTech campus is a huge task. Wheeler is not aware of any abductions, but there have been “one or two robberies”.

The university is also trying to foster a positive relationship with the surrounding communities, which also impact on the security of the campus. It established a community service secretariat, an annual UTech/Papine forum, and the students have a Teach The Youth programme in which youngsters from the communities are helped with their school work. There is also a joint UTech/Papine football team.

“We try to give them a stake in the campus so that they will discourage persons who may by thinking of doing something (criminal),” said Wheeler. “It’s not an us-and-them situation; we are one community.”

In an effort to improve security on its main and satellite campuses, the Mandeville-based Northern Caribbean University (NCU) is embarking on a major project which will cost $10 million in the next academic year, NCU’s vice-president for technology, extensions and strategic planning Dr Patrick Williams told the Sunday Observer.

The project will require staff and students to use swipe cards to access certain key buildings such as laboratories and libraries, surveillance equipment to monitor parking areas and other isolated areas, the acquiring of two utility vehicles for security officers to respond more quickly to calls, and the contracting of off-duty policemen to augment the existing security personnel.

Williams said at present, only the finance offices, computer lab and business skills centre have surveillance equipment, but added “it is not a general rule across the campus, that’s why we are pushing to put these things in place”.

Williams said $24 million is budgeted for security this academic year, but that will jump to about $34 million with the new system next year.

The budget covers security on the 200-acre main campus with over 3,330 students and 500 staff members, as well as NCU’s satellites at Half-Way-Tree Road and Kingsway High School in St Andrew, and Harrison High School in Montego Bay. There are some 860 NCU students in Kingston, and 400 in Montego Bay.

The NCU main campus has four points of entry/exit, all of which are always manned by security personnel. However, one is opened only on special occasions such as graduations, while one gate is for pedestrians only.

Students and staff are required to carry a picture ID at all times. “The written policy is that when students do not have their ID, technically they are not allowed on campus”, Dr Williams said. “If a guest comes to see someone in an office, the person is phoned first to find out if the guest has an appointment. If the guest does not have an appointment, they are not allowed on the campus.”

Williams said persons had been held up with knives and robbed on campus, and many students have lost their cellphones after mislaying them. “Our history shows that it is between now and the Christmas season that students tend to be harassed,” he said. “We brought the Mandeville police to talk to our students about the importance of being vigilant and walking in groups, and we encourage our students to avoid living in [certain] areas, especially those from overseas who might not be aware of the culture.”