UPEI student union looking to improve security on campus

By Laura Yorke

UPEI’s student union is looking at ways to improve security on campus following a number of recent incidents.

The number of students on campus has grown in recent years but security has not grown with it, said Tim Cullen, president of the student union.

“They’re stretched too thin.”

There are six campus police officers available. The number on duty on any given night depends on the size of an event at the university.

Several incidents have occurred where a student was attacked and security couldn’t be there because they were dealing with something else, said Cullen.

“There simply aren’t enough bodies.”

Many of the incidents occur after the campus bar, the Wave, closes. Although the majority of the patrons are UPEI students, often the attacker, or attackers, are not, he said.

As well, many of the incidents in Brown’s Court cannot be dealt with by campus security because they have no jurisdiction there, he said.

One of the solutions the student union is looking at is a student campus police force – students hired and trained to monitor the campus and act as an extra set of eyes to be where campus security can’t be, said Cullen.

The student police would be paid but not at as high of a rate as city police.

UPEI’s student union has had several informal discussions with the university over whether or not the security is effective and if a student police force would be a logical idea.

Greg Clayton, director of facilities management, said the university has two officers patrolling the campus and several personnel in the buildings at night, as well as a 24-hour dispatch.

“We have a good presence on the grounds.”

They work closely with student union and are always trying to improve security by looking at things such as proper lighting around the campus, he said.

If the university were to look into a student police force it’s something they would want to do carefully, said Clayton.

“You don’t want to put a student in a situation where they’re at risk.”

The current policing staff is qualified to handle situations. Campus police work closely with city police and can call on them if assistance is needed, he said.

The university is not looking at student policing. Having a student police force by Christmas doesn’t seem too promising either, said Clayton.

“That’s not very realistic.”

The university has the same interests as the student union, the safety and security of its students. Right now, though, they are just looking at current security protocol around events and if there is a need to improve it, which will take some time, he said.

But Cullen doesn’t want to wait. He is worried if something isn’t done soon, an incident will occur where someone gets seriously hurt.

“In the interest of safety, the sooner this is done the better.”

A student event risk management report done last year for UPEI suggested a student police force could be of value to the university.

“We think that would be an economical way to deal with it,” said Cullen.

Several other Canadian universities, such as St. FX in Antigonish, N.S., and Queen’s in Kingston, Ont., have already established such forces.

Rory Campbell, vice-president of the St. FX campus police, said it’s an effective way to monitor university events to ensure they don’t get out of hand, as well as implementing general security around campus.

He has been vice president of the force for six years and is finishing a degree in education, his second degree at the university.

St. FX’s homecoming was coming up at the time of the interview and Campbell said campus police were going to be in higher demand. The force consists of 130 students.

In order to be on the force you must be a full-time student and undergo training, said Campbell.

Sometimes students worry about enforcing the law on their friends, but Campbell said it’s all about respect.

“If your friend is being stupid, just tell him, ‘I’m just doing my job.’”

Students are less likely to engage in a criminal act if they know their friend is part of the campus police, he said.

Student police are also able to build a rapport with students where outside police forces cannot.

Campus police are not hired to arrest students breaking the law, but they can report an incident to police who will deal with it.

“If we see people breaking the community code (we stop it).”

Campbell meets with a judicial affairs officer weekly to discuss the past week’s events. From there, the officer can decide whether or not to file a report on an incident.

If the incident is serious enough, charges could be laid and the student could have his or her I.D. removed and be banned from campus.

St. FX has had a student police force in place since 1964.

Overall, it’s a very effective method of security, said Campbell.

“I find it hard to believe more schools don’t do this.”

If it weren’t for campus police, St. FX would be a very different place, he said.