UCT students are victims of crimes.
Is UCT under security threat?
Are we safe in this Rondebosch Student Village?
University of Cape Town being one of the best Universities in the World seems to be on security threat. A week won’t pass by without hearing about a hijack, stab threat or even gunpoint cases. It is on the very same campus that Securities are all in the open, but to what purpose if we still get very high danger incidents during broad day light. As a student in this very campus, I fear to even walk with my electronics and wallet on campus avenues. No place on campus seems to be safe for me and fellow students and this is even made worse by the fact that it looks like this incident are on the rise day by day. Why is it that we have to be robbed on campus during the day when CPS (Campus Security Service) is on duty? Last year a student from Woolsack Residence got his laptop stolen by a non-student from his room in residence during the day, a theft that can be easily avoided if our security service men can be on their duty spots at all times.
What is it that CPS is doing that they can say we prevented a crime from happening; I understand that they are light unarmed men or not be firearm trained, but are we being compromised here. How can criminals who are armed with guns and knives find unarmed securities intimidating? Honestly, it is with sadness that an institution as expensive as UCT still has such incidents where CPS can’t even save your souls or even my cheap phone. It is at various scenes and occasions that CPS will be called for a scene report but only to tell you that they can’t do anything from their side, we need to go to the police station. Why is that I have to call 10111 to get effective policing when I believe that my campus provides such services. Why is it that I report a robbery in the CPS offices and I don’t get their feedback at all? It is not enough to just see CPS presence on campus that can’t help avoid a single incident. Why in this present day do we still have robberies, attacks on campus, it does not make sense to hear that a student has been robbed in Leslie social or, in Kramer when we expect effective securiting in those places. Another excuse that I have encountered with a CPS officer is that woolsack drive and Stanley Road is not UCT property, why do we then have to have to hear about continuous attacks on the same platforms and still see no awareness about it. UCT and CPS might be doing risk management on those places but why is it that they get silent whereas we as students and staff are the victims of these harsh crimes.
It is tiring to hear about crime reports on campus every two days when we hardly hear about any effective implementation on those places. SRC need to also pull strength and fight for an effective approach on gaining our campus back, we can do this. Why do I have to withdraw money in Kramer at night and still feel unsafe to walk about? This need to be engaged more seriously because without proper security, we as student are and will always be victims and this hurts.
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