With just over 10,000 students at the University of Winnipeg, and countless other people passing through the downtown campus everyday, there’s reasonable concern about security and personal safety. Due to a recent uptick of lockers being broken into and personal items getting stolen, students have cause to wonder how safe their belongings actually are – even when they are locked up.

“Most crimes on any university campus are crimes of opportunity,” says UW Director of Security Services Martin Grainger, confirming that property theft is most common. 

Security Services does advise students to avoid leaving expensive items in their lockers, especially things like cash and electronics. Those situations, however, are often unavoidable. Where are personal belongings to be kept if not in a locker? 

For Amalda Iradukunda, 20, her things were in her locker for a good reason. 

“I went to the gym, and of course I’m not going to carry all my stuff with me. When I got back, my lock had been cut off and everything was gone,” Iradukunda says. “Security said I had to make a police report. I asked about the (security) cameras… since the person took so much, it couldn’t have fit into a bag, and they would’ve had to carry it in their hands. 

“Security said they couldn’t just let me see the cameras,” she continues. “Then they explained that there’s only a single camera at one of the exits in the basement, and it’s not around where the lockers are.”

Grainger says the best way to protect your locker from being an easy target is a type of lock with a shield around the hasp and steel balls inside. These are available for purchase at the UW bookstore for around $20.

“What people tend to use is an inferior lock, which can be easily broken,” Grainger points out.  

Peter Mangera, 32, is another student who’s had items taken from his locker. “I could say I feel safe in terms of personal safety,” he explains, “but in terms of my items I would say no, based on what has happened. 

“We don’t know what’s being done to prevent this from happening again.”

Grainger counters that campus security is doing its job. “We’ve got cameras all over and we also have guards that constantly patrol,” he reports. “They make a conscious effort to go through the locker areas, but there’s so many they can’t be there all the time.”

Mangera suggests that students will have to take the onus on themselves to maintain the security of personal belongings, in lieu of the shortcomings of campus Security Services. 

“We as students at this university need to be mindful of one another,” he says.

Published in Volume 68, Number 20 of The Uniter (February 13, 2014)