Staff and student input required if college security guidelines are to stand any chance of working

Responding to guidelines from the higher education minister David Lammy that call for a 'hoodies down' rule on campus and a 'more visible police presence' the union said that, while the safety of staff and students was paramount, the new measures could end up being counterproductive.
 
It said it was disappointed that lessons had not be learnt from the issuing of controversial guidelines on combating extremism in universities and colleges and added that the government needed to engage with the people involved in college life on a daily basis, rather than issuing diktats - however well-intended they were.
 
UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: 'Staff and student security is of the utmost importance and I'm sure these new measures were well intentioned. However, as we saw previously with the badly put together guidance on extremism, proper engagement with the people involved in college life on a daily basis is required if they are to have any chance of success.
 
'It is in everyone's best interests that we have coordinated strategy for dealing with the issue of college security. Any guidance needs to be developed in consultation with staff and students to avoid the risk of alienating the very people it is intended to protect.'