Students 'still not safe'
2005-07-19 11:49
Johannesburg - Students at the university where Leigh Matthews was snatched on July 9 2004, appear to still be vulnerable to kidnappers a year after promises of stricter security.
With the trial of Matthews' alleged killer starting on Monday, a Sapa reporter put the campus security system to the test.
On the morning of July 14 it failed. Getting past the guards at the entrance, and exiting undetected, proved to be no problem.
Just a year ago Bond South Africa, in upmarket Sandton, was mourning the death of the blonde 21-year-old student who was kidnapped on the eve of her birthday bash.
Matthews was found naked and dead in a field south of Johannesburg, with bullet holes in the back of her head, neck and chest on July 21.
When a Sapa reporter returned to the varsity location last week, now occupied by Varsity College, he was able to sail past security staff, wander around in the parking lot, enter classrooms and leave undetected.
Also on the campus are the upmarket Vega advertising school, Crawford College and a smaller building housing Bond SA, which is in the process of pulling out of the country.
The reporter drove in at 10.23, about the same time Matthews's abductor approached her in the parking lot and conned her into giving him a lift.
The security guards handed the reporter a register to fill in.
Fake number plate given
The journalist wrote his name was Jeffrey Dahmer, the American serial killer and cannibal, and gave a false number plate number.
The guard merely had to look down at the number plate to spot the lie.
A bogus telephone number was also provided and the reason for entry was stated as "Bond".
The reporter was free to roam the parking lot and campus - and did exactly that, snapping pictures of "potential victims".
Inside the university, he was at liberty to enter the cafeteria and chat to students. He could even enter classrooms, taking photographs as evidence.
The reporter was allowed to leave without being checked. The security guards did not inspect whether the car had been stolen or contained a victim in the boot.
Sapa chronicled the details of the visit and sent them off to the college for comment. It referred the enquiry to a communication company, AdvTech.
AdvTech 'very concerned'
Spokesperson Taryn Proksch said: "AdvTech is very concerned about safety and security on all its campuses. (We) undertake various security measures. These include visible measures such as monitoring of public access points and parking.
"The group has explored and considered various ways of improving its contribution to security... by increasing the number of guards, upgrading fences and increased surveillance measures. Security and safety measures are reviewed and monitored on a continual basis."
When asked whether any action would be taken, Proksch said "In all instances - where there is any incident - action is taken with the service providers."
Steve Margo, who has been in the security industry for over 15 years and is a senior manager with the country's biggest armed response company, criticised the campus security set-up.
"It's totally unacceptable," he said. "It's far too easy for people to get into places without being checked."
Margo said security guards should write down the registration number, colour and make of the vehicles themselves before asking the visitor to fill in their personal details.
"I wouldn't accept that. How can they employ people who don't know the meaning of the word security?"
Margo said the security guards at a university should have a way to communicate with the reception and ask whether the visitor was expected and by whom.
Superintendent Ernst Strydom, a police specialist in the hostage and kidnapping unit, agreed.
"If it's a private university they should have more protection," he said.
He said it was difficult to say what security measures should be installed, but said matching a number plate was a basic (requirement).
"I would expect security guards to be more observant," he said.
Had the reporter been a kidnapper, no records would exist of his visit.
- SAPA