Safety has been on everyone’s mind at 91ɫ in the wake of the April death of 91ɫ student Qian Liu in The Village, the private residential development just south of the Keele campus, and recent incidents of assault and theft. The University has brought in many new measures to improve safety on its campuses. But what it can do beyond its borders is a more complicated situation.
As part of its response to the more than 100 issues raised in a safety report commissioned by 91ɫ President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri and conducted by the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC), the University reconstituted The Village at 91ɫ Town and Gown Committee to address concerns it shares with the community south of Assiniboine Road. Such committees are common in the close to 150 Canadian communities that host one or more colleges or universities, often near private rental housing for students that has existed for decades.
On campus, 91ɫ’s commitment to safety and security is ongoing. After the METRAC report was issued in June 2010, 91ɫ continued to augment security measures as part of its $8.9-million annual safety effort, an increase of $535,000 over the previous year. 91ɫ has also budgeted for the hiring of additional security officials to expand its current force of 24 at the Keele campus. A further eight security staff watch over the Glendon campus for a total of 32 front-line response personnel, all of whom are supported by a network of more than 660 CCTV cameras, security telephones and emergency video screens.
Last year, 91ɫ spent $200,000 on improved lighting in key areas and plans a similar investment in each of the next three years. Added to this are such security features as:
more than 300 emergency and safety phones outdoors, in parking garages, in classrooms and in corridors of campus buildings;- a goSAFE program that escorts students to class, residences, parking and transit;
- the Campus Shuttle with a designated route which includes stops in The Village;
- strategically located campus TV screens for communicating safety messages;
- residences equipped with door alarms and CCTV cameras (right) to limit unwanted intrusions.
This week 91ɫ produced a (above) that tours some of the University's key safety features. 91ɫ security officials also note that the campus crime rate is seven times lower than the crime rate per 1,000 people across the City of Toronto. More information is available in the downloadable document .
But The Village, part of the City of Toronto, is a more complex challenge.
“91ɫ is interested in what transpires in The Village given the large student population, supportive by way of the Campus Shuttle and involved by way of active stewardship of the town and gown committee,” says Richard Francki, 91ɫ’s assistant vice-president, campus services & business operations. “However, 91ɫ and its various constituents have to be cognizant that it has no legal jurisdiction to act outside of the University's property boundaries.”
While they can’t patrol The Village itself, 91ɫ security officers (right) are keeping a close eye on the south end of the campus, patrolling the parking lot and the areas around the 91ɫ Apartments at Assiniboine Road and Passy Crescent, says Rob Kilfoyle, 91ɫ’s director of security services. He also notes that 91ɫ has 22 staff stationed in residences focusing on access control and security as part of the Residence Watch Program set up in 2008.
Dealing with incidents off campus requires a framework of cooperation among key stakeholders, including area residents, 85 per cent of whom rent their accommodation from property owners who don’t live in the neighbourhood. The town and gown committee includes representatives from the three main stakeholder groups: Toronto’s municipal services – police, fire, and licensing & standards staff, as well as Councillor Anthony Perruzza; representatives of The Village at 91ɫ Residents Association and the 91ɫ Federation of Students; and 91ɫ officials. It is chaired in turn by the leading member of each. Rob Tiffin, 91ɫ’s vice-president students, took the chair at the first meeting on March 18.
Together, the committee members are looking at how to navigate the complexities of increasing safety and security on private property with a significant short-term population of students living in homes that have been converted into rooming houses, some with as many as 16 rooms. Adding to the challenge is the fact that some of the residents’ complaints involve friction between homeowners and long-term renters with student and non-student roomers.
Recent media stories have reported that conditions in some of the renovated townhomes in The Village do not meet building code requirements and, since the North 91ɫ bylaws governing rental housing have not been changed since amalgamation in 1998, many are alleged to be illegal. Enforcing standards in this context can be a costly and complex legal exercise.
One of the key outcomes of the first meeting of the town and gown committee was the formation of a city-convened working group to look at licensing best practices in other jurisdictions and fire safety standards to put forward to the city to address concerns identified in The Village.
The University will continue to work closely with the other committee members to gain improved conditions in The Village. On campus, meanwhile, security and safety is a top priority.
For more information, visit the website.