Wits plans on rolling out an ambitious security plan starting with the appointment of a crime prevention and liaison manager by the end of next month.

The manager will be responsible for implementing the “University’s 2013 Operational Plan”.

The plan proposes a number of steps for improving security on campus, including a “Crime Awareness” program to educate students and staff, a publication called Campus Watch, and the introduction of a safe walk program.

The plan includes a proposal to improve the understanding of policies and procedures by Campus Control officers; this will be one of the responsibilities of the new crime prevention and liaison manager.

The plan, which can be found on the Wits intranet site, does not go into detail about the objectives and does not state specific dates for when plans should be implemented.

In an email response to questions by Wits Vuvuzela, about the operational plan’s stated intention to provide Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) certificate training to 35 Campus Control officers, head of security Rob Kemp said that the training had yet to take place.

“I am awaiting advice from our training consultant whether additional training is required; if so then this will be carried out through our training consultant and CLTD [Campus Learning and Training Division],” Kemp said.

In South Africa the mandate of the PSIRA derives from the Private Security Industry Regulatory Act 56 of 2001. The PSIRA website states that the “primary objective of the authority is to regulate the private security industry and to exercise effective control over the practice of the occupation of security service provider.”

Last week, Wits Vuvuzela reported that Campus Control officers had not received training on responding to incidents of a sexual nature from the Career and Counselling Development Unit (CCDU) in the past three years.

Kemp told Wits Vuvuzela that Campus Control officers would be trained to a minimum “D” level and would receive training on how to investigate incidents and process evidence. However, that training would only take place if funding could be found.

 

mfuneko@vuvuzela.com