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Safety and Security

BSafe

Safety and Security

First-year students: Your safety comes first

22 January 2020 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Sonia Small (Kaleidoscope Studio)

Safety read more — First-year students: Your safety comes first

Welcome to the first-year students at the University of the Free State (UFS) and best wishes for the 2020 academic year. We value your safety at all our three campuses and call on you to familiarise yourself with all safety features.
From safety off-campus and at residences, to personal security in general, the university has measures in place to ensure your well-being. Here are some of the resources available to you:

24/7 Operational Centres
Protection Services consistently works towards ensuring that security is tight on UFS campuses through its 24/7 Operational Centres. Emergencies and crime incidents that affect students may be reported at the centres. The certification of documents and drafting of affidavits are also facilitated at these centres.

Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) Cameras
All campuses are monitored by CCTV cameras on a 24/7 basis. A process is under way to further enhance cameras to cover hotspots. Recently 107 cameras were upgraded to improve the safety of students. The adequacy of lighting was assessed and a process is under way to improve lighting on campuses where weak spots were observed.

Red pole alarms (panic buttons)
Red pole alarms fitted with cameras were installed around the Bloemfontein Campus which are linked to the Operational Centre. Alarms are tested daily and any problems are attended to immediately. A process also under way to install red pole alarms on the South Campus.

Security Patrols
Security patrols are conducted on a daily basis on foot and by vehicles on all campuses to respond to student complaints and for visibility.

Security at residences
Security Officers are deployed around the female residences at night. Monthly liaison meetings are held between Protection Services with Housing and Residence Affairs to discuss areas for improvement and alternative options to ensure security.

Dedicated Investigating Officers
An investigating officer is on standby 24/7 who is available to students and staff who has a fully entrenched relationship with the South African Police Service (SAPS) Investigation Unit. All complaints are fully investigated, and cases being handled by SAPS investigators are also followed up by Protection Services.

Accreditation of off-campus residences
The Housing and Residence Affairs department, in collaboration with Protection Services, has conducted an assessment of off-campus student residences to check whether security at the facilities is adequate.

Student Crime Stop WhatsApp group
A WhatsApp group consisting of students, members of SAPS, the Community Police Forum (CPF), Sector Policing, Protection Services, and armed security companies was set up to share safety and security concerns experienced by students.

Dedicated security and SAPS vehicles deployed at identified hotspots
Security patrols are conducted at areas such as Brandwag, Willows and Universitas, where a large number of students live. In addition, joint crime awareness sessions with the SAPS are held to address issues that arise from time to time.

Distribution of whistles
The whistle project, in collaboration with SAPS, CPF and armed response companies, is currently under way. The UFS has purchased 10 000 whistles which will be distributed to students at all campuses.

Community Police Forum (CPF) membership
The UFS is represented on CPF committees. In the near future a CPF will be established on the Bloemfontein Campus to ensure student participation.

Emergency Services: Bloemfontein Campus
Protection Services: +27 51 401 2911 | +27 51 401 2634 | 0800 204 682
Ambulance: +27 80 005 1051 | 10177
Social worker: +27 73 182 3048
Kovsie Health: +27 51 401 2603

Emergency Services: South Campus
Protection Services: +27 51 505 1217
Ambulance: +27 80 005 1051 | 10177
Social worker: +27 73 182 3048
Kovsie Health: +27 51 401 2603

Emergency Services: Qwaqwa Campus
Protection Services: +27 58 718 5460 | +27 58 718 5175 | +27 58 718 5360
Ambulance: 10177
Social worker: +27 58 718 5090 | +27 58 718 5091
Kovsie Health: +27 58 718 5210

News Archive

Small things matter

2017-01-17

Prof Felicity Burt (right) and Dr Dominique Goedhals
from the Department of Medical Microbiology and
Virology at the University of the Free State.
Photo: Anja Aucamp

The newly established virology section at the University of the Free State (UFS) boasts world class expertise. Not only are they one of just five laboratories in the country tasked with specialised HIV testing, but current research generates publications and subsidised funding.

The driving force behind this initiative is passionate and dedicated people who invest long hours into vital research. One such person is Prof Felicity Burt, who eloquently guides her students while making impressive progress within her own field of interest: vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. Prof Burt was recently awarded a research chair (2016-2020) to, among other areas, investigate medically significant vector-borne and zoonotic viruses currently circulating.

That means that her research focus is mainly on viruses transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks, and viruses transmitted from animals to humans. “Yes,” she laughs, “I catch mosquitoes and check them for viruses.”

Becoming familiar with different viruses
As if big screen moments like Outbreak and Contagion did not create enough virus paranoia, the world was recently bombarded by real world Ebola and Zika outbreaks. But awareness, Prof Burt says, is not a bad thing. “Years ago, when people heard that I did Ebola research, they got that distant look in their eyes, and changed the subject. One outbreak later, backed by many media reports, and Ebola is almost a household name. The same goes for the recent Zika virus outbreak in South America.”

The more familiar people become with these types of viruses, the better, Prof Burt feels. However, getting the right message across is not always that easy. The Zika virus outbreak, for example, was a very large outbreak and therefore presented large numbers of affected people. Generally, not everyone infected with an arbovirus will necessarily present with symptoms. But because vector-borne viruses can spread to new areas, surveillance and awareness is important. Here in Bloemfontein, Prof Burt and her team are establishing surveillance programmes.

Gaining knowledge and preventative measures
So, next time you get all wound up about a “biological disaster”, rest assured that competent people like Prof Burt and her colleagues continuously scan the environment to gain knowledge and develop preventive measures should any risks be looming. For example, developing next-generation vaccines that are very effective, but without risk – since they are not built on the virus itself, but only on the part of the virus that will induce an immune response.

Currently, Prof Burt is also looking into the relationship between the Sindbis virus and arthritis. It is clear that we can expect many exciting findings from the UFS’s new virology unit.

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