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Safety at The University of Kent
We have all heard of, and probably had help from, Campus Watch; those knights in fluorescent yellow vests who break up noisy mid-week parties and cycle around campus on bicycles (unfortunately horses would over-step their budget).
But what else does UKC do for our safety? Most will agree that walking around campus, even at night, with perhaps the exception of the Eliot footpath, you feel perfectly safe. Surely, you should feel slightly more anxious as the student housing holding thousands of pounds worth of valuables are prime targets for theft. Not to mention the millions inside each of the colleges. However, only 5% of all students experienced theft in halls last year, the Home Office reports. This figure dramatically decreases further still at The University of Kent’s Canterbury campus.
Campus Watch are the main organisation on-site which ensures the well-being and safety of students, “Security is an issue of concern to everyone on campus and Campus Watch are here to help.”
From their offices, behind the Grimond Building, you can collect a free personal alarm, which could come in useful if you were out in Canterbury as according the Home Office, 4% of all students were stalked during the past year. You can even call for an escort home if you do not feel safe enough to make that walk home alone, or even with another friend.
This is not the end to their talents either: Campus Watch also involve themselves in any crime which may have occurred on campus. It is safe to say that in this area, Kent do a lot for the safety of the students living, and studying on campus.
But then surely, not everything can surely be left to Campus Watch? It appears that Kent have also proceeded to take a more traditional approach to safety. The venue is a prime example; bouncers on the door ensure that those who could be a danger to themselves or others inside are kept out, while bouncers on the inside help to break up any drunken indiscretions.
Unnervingly, Campus Watch are the only service that is clearly dealing with crime prevention on campus. I may be mistaken, however, without digging further or keeping eyes peeled, it is rare to see anything else. Of course there are the standard locks on doors, but on the surface there is not another pro-active service.
A response may be, that as there is such an effective service in place, is there a need for another, or can security cameras and bouncers suffice?
With the current statistics of crime, it appears that they can.
The article’s purpose is to simply make students aware of the services Kent has to offer in terms of staying safe on campus.
By website-features on 12.11.2023
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… and the point is? Unless this is pure praise for Campus Watch, what are you actually getting at? 🙂
By Anonymous on 12.11.2023
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