Safety row after knife attacks

Unions have attacked Greenwich University for pushing ahead with plans to cut campus security staff despite two robberies by knife-wielding intruders in recent weeks.

The university this week confirmed that there would be fewer guards at its main Maritime Greenwich campus as it increases the use of CCTV.

But a Greenwich representative said that despite protests by lecturers'

union Natfhe and support-staff representative Unison, the university took staff security seriously. The representative insisted that the reforms would improve safety.

The controversy has arisen after two knife-point robberies - including one involving two female lecturers - in the same week a month ago at the university's Avery Hill campus in Eltham, southeast London.

"Given recent attacks on staff by intruders, the reduction in staffing levels on the university campuses is ill-advised, and we are hopeful the management will rethink this position," said Peter Kavanagh, branch secretary for Unison.

"It is ironic that while the police are responding to calls to put the bobby back on the beat, our university appears to be doing the reverse by removing a security presence, putting cost savings above best practice."

On June 3, Linda Cording, secretary at Greenwich informed staff in a memo:

"On separate occasions, a man, possibly the same man, came onto campus and used threats to commit two thefts."

She issued an appeal for information from the Metropolitan Police, which is investigating the incidents.

The police said that on May 31, "a man entered an administrative building... carrying a six-inch knife. He threatened a member of staff and subsequently stole her vehicle, parked outside.

"On the second occasion, on June 2, a man with a knife entered the student union shop on the campus. He threatened staff and left with a large amount of cash from the till."

On June 14, Christopher Powner, senior manager in the facilities management department at the university, confirmed to Unison and Natfhe representatives that the university was "likely" to replace guards on the entrance of buildings with a system of regular patrols allied with better CCTV coverage.

At a meeting on June 16, Natfhe members at the Old Royal Naval College, on the Maritime Greenwich campus, raised concerns that greater use of CCTV to identify perpetrators after an attack had taken place would not be "a great source of comfort to a victim".

The branch passed a resolution stating that staff at the Maritime campus should not work in buildings with no security at the entrance. and both Unison and Natfhe have joined forces to urge the university to review its security plans.

A representative for Greenwich said there were no plans to cut security staff numbers or security spending at Avery Hill. He said the campus would benefit from wider CCTV coverage and the latest digital technology.

The representative said the university spent £1.2 million a year on 24-hour protection across its four campuses.

On the Maritime campus there had been "a review of the balance between security officers and advanced technology", the representative added.

"Although there will be fewer guards, they will be patrolling the site rather than being static and will be backed up with a CCTV system and existing card-controlled entry systems," the representative said.

phil.baty@thes.co.uk