A new report from the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) reveals that despite security staff being a common sight on university campuses, only one third (30.8%) of students surveyed agreed that they keep students safe on campus. The report follows a series of high-profile and controversial incidents involving campus security services and police and students at UK universities.
Students raised concerns about racial profiling and discrimination from campus security staff. Nearly three-quarters of students surveyed agreed that some people would be more likely the have encounters or issues with security staff than others, with 78.6% saying that race was a key factor, followed by gender (61.7%) and social class (54.8%).
Only 22.6% of students who identify as trans, non-binary or an ‘other’ gender identity said that security services keep students safe and the report found cases of transphobic and misogynistic behaviour from security staff towards students.
Students reported instances of sexual violence, assault or drink spiking being dismissed or not believed by security staff. Sexual violence and drink spiking were important issues for students, and many felt that security staff did not treat them seriously enough. The report also highlighted some cases were security staff accused students of lying about being spiked, or blamed them for leaving drinks unattended.
In many universities, security staff are also the designated first responders to mental health incidents. Though there were cases where security staff were sensitive and supportive to students in crisis, there were many more where the response from individual security staff was inadequate or insensitive, sometimes even making the problem worse.
Security staff have wide-ranging and often conflicting responsibilities, and the report raises serious questions about whether they are best positioned to fulfil this role. One student remembered being intimidated and scared during a mental health crisis when she was escorted back to her student accommodation by security staff in ‘police-type uniform’. Others noted that security staff arrived quickly but clearly had little or no training in dealing with mental health emergencies.
Commenting on the report, Nehaal Bajwa, NUS Vice President for Liberation and Equality said:
Dr Shabna Begum, Interim co-CEO Runnymede Trust, said:
Lead author of the report, Dr Remi Joseph-Salisbury, University of Manchester, said:
Second author, Dr Laura Connelly, University of Sheffield, said:
Co-author, Dr Siobhan O’Neill, University of Kent, said:
Whose campus, whose security? follows a series of high-profile and controversial incidents involving campus security services and police and students at UK universities. It is the first piece of research to investigate students’ views on, and experiences with, security services and police on UK university campuses.
Authored by Dr Remi Joseph-Salisbury, Dr Laura Connelly, Dr Kerry Pimblott, Dr Siobhan O’Neill and Dr Harry Taylor, the report shows that students have a range of concerns about campus security services, as well as the police on campus.
* This article was originally published here
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