University of the West Indies (UWI) Guild president Kobe Sandy is calling on the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and the Ministry of National Security to take the safety of students at the institution seriously.
His call comes after a series of recent posts on social media where complaints were made that individuals in a black vehicle were lurking around the campus and harassing female students. The vehicle has been spotted at the northern and Heartease gates of UWI compound on multiple occasions, with one individual even claiming she escaped an attempt to snatch her.
One social media wrote, “The same car riding the outskirts of UWI tryna kidnap people since the second week of the semester and you tryna tell me nobody is doing anything??????????? The same car same people, not like they even trying to hide...they parking up normal, normal broad daylight.”
Sandy said no formal reports were made to the campus itself regarding the incident but he became aware of the situation via social media and said it must be taken seriously.
“The reality is that even though these photos may not be an official report...it is still a reality that is faced by the students on the campus.”
Sandy said the UWI campus comprises the main campus, Open Campus, Hugh Wooding Law School and various other entities, all of which could benefit from extra protection from the TTPS.
“From what I understand, there was a TTPS mobile unit placed on the campus some years ago and I find that it is quite unfortunate that this is no longer there...I want to see a return of the mobile unit or even a St Augustine police post around the campus, for there to be further patrols... we have thousands of students traversing the campus a day and we cannot afford to have our young people, our students, being abused, being raped, or even killed.”
Contacted on the issue, Northern Police Division head Christopher Paponette and Assistant Superintendent Rawle Ramharrack said no reports of the UWI incident were made to them.
However, saying they also became aware of the matter via social media posts, they said officers intercepted the driver of the vehicle, questioned him and the matter was under active investigation.
Pamponette assured that they will be liaising with the UWI’s administration and security to find out whether the university had received any reports and will be taking any measures in light of the incidents.
Pamponette said in most instances, persons tend to post these issues on social media rather than report them to the relevant authorities. He said while they appreciate this avenue of becoming aware of incidents, they prefer if persons bring the report to the police.
Meanwhile, UWI Principal, Professor Rose Marie Belle Antoine, said she had not received any such reports of incidents since she was away.
In a release, UWI’s Marketing and Communications Office also said, “To date (October 14th 2022), neither the Campus Management nor Security Department has received any official reports concerning this activity.”
However, the department urged students to wear their university IDs to access the campus for easy recognition by staff and security. In addition, students and staff were encouraged to take “personal responsibility for their safety by walking in groups” and “utilise the campus shuttle service and access security escorts at night.”
