TORONTO – Student leaders at Canadian universities have opted not to have police patrolling on campuses despite the recent sex assaults at two Ontario campuses, CanWest News reports.
The debate to heighten security on campus came after two 19-year-old women were sexually assaulted in their unlocked dormitory room at York University in Toronto. Police are unaware as to how the suspects entered into the building, which can only be opened with a pass card.
Two weeks prior to that incident, a student at Carleton University in Ottawa was sexually assaulted, beaten and tied up in a science lab.
An organization of campus security leaders, the Canadian Federation of Student and the York Student Federation decided that despite the attacks, routine police patrols would damper the “atmosphere of freedom and openness” on campus.
Instead, Canadian universities have implemented new security measures through text-messaging alerts, loudspeaker systems and security towers.
Local police will arrive on the scene if called when campus crimes occur. However, they will not regularly patrol campuses.
