With exams coming to an end and winter vac around the corner, Campus Protection Services (CPS) have advised staff members to remain alert as the corridors of academia become quiet and deserted.

Staff are reminded to lock their offices when leaving them (even for brief moments) and to ensure their valuables, including bags, laptops and cell phones, are locked away and not left on or underneath desks.

Stuart Wragg, CPS Security Manager, said: "We would like to encourage staff members to report access control problems and all thefts, no matter how trivial. This allows us to determine if crime trends are developing in a particular area as criminals tend to get greedy and small crimes usually lead to bigger crimes."

Wragg pointed out it is during this period that maintenance work is usually conducted on Campus, sometimes requiring external contractors to complete the work. Members of staff are advised to be observant and report suspicious loiterers and unidentified workers, even asking for identification if necessary.

While vehicle crimes on the fringes of the Campus remain a problem, CPS are pleased to report that two vehicles, stolen from P3 and P15, were recovered in the Langa and Stikland areas with minimal damage.

Another success story was the arrest of an alleged car thief by a CPS Officer in Main Road, Rosebank. On May 25, a CPS Officer in the surveillance room noticed a male suspiciously looking into the vehicles parked in the main road outside the Rosehope flats. On arriving at the scene the officer noticed the back window of a vehicle had been smashed. The suspect was seen running towards the playground (opposite Kilindini) and the officer gave chase. The officer arrested the suspect, took him back to the vehicle and noticed various items had been removed from and left outside the vehicle. The officer used the intercom system at Rosehope flats to trace its owner, who identified the items as his property. The suspect was taken to the police station and formally charged.

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