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16 July 2020 | Story Valentino Ndaba
Add these emergency safety contacts to your speed dial.
Staying safe during the coronavirus pandemic extends to ensuring that students at the University of the Free State (UFS) are safe from crime. Crime in South Africa remains an unfortunate reality which continues to affect students, staff and the institution in general. 

“Crime requires constant vigilance from the community and this can only be achieved through initiatives that are aimed at informing the community on what to do and what not to do. To this end the BSafe Safety First flyer is geared at informing specifically the student community on safety measures that must be taken,” said Cobus van Jaarsveld, Assistant Director: Threat Detection, Investigations and Liaison at Protection Services.

The Safety First flyer is a guide for students to be crime-conscious whether at their accommodation, on the street, or in their vehicles. It also offers tips on how to act responsibly as far as alcohol and drugs are concerned.

Engaging students on their safety 

UFS Protection Services recently engaged with off-campus residence students in Bloemfontein in order to provide tips on how to stay safe in their neighbourhoods. During the engagement, the new Safety First pamphlets were distributed, and students were encouraged to join the Student Crime-Stop Brandwag WhatsApp group.

As from 15 June 2020, Nissi Armed Response was deployed from 18:00 to 06:00. This initiative has already led to them responding to several suspicious persons and vehicles, as well as some minor incidents and disturbances. Two arrests were made on different occasions as a result of the deployment. In the first incident, a suspect was arrested on 27 June 2020 after a burglary in Brandwag, and the second relates to a suspect who was arrested on 10 July 2020 after threatening students at Universitas.

These successes were the result of student and community participation in providing information, coupled with excellent response from private security companies, including Nissi Armed Response, VR Security, and BloemSec.

News Archive

New infrastructure development project planned for the Bloemfontein Campus
2015-06-03

Illustration by Incline Architects

The university community can look forward to two new infrastructure development projects on the Bloemfontein Campus. The construction of a new parking area for staff and students accommodated in the new Education Building, will begin as early as June 2015.

The project includes 113 parking places for students and 16 covered parking places for staff. According to Nico Janse van Rensburg, Senior Director at University Estates, the project will be tackled using several green approaches. “The parking area’s lighting will be solar-powered. The surface will not be the normal paving stone but will permit the water to drain into the ground and in this way be more environmentally friendly and minimise the greenhouse effect,” he says.

Several indigenous trees will beautify the area.

The new parking area will be situated opposite the UFS Sasol library’s student parking area, between the cricket field and the present parking area at the Education Building.

The second project involves a new roof structure at the Bloemfontein Campus’s main entrance security gate.

Since August last year, the university has been enforcing rigorous entrance controls. No person can access any of the five entrances of the Bloemfontein Campus without a valid entrance card. Should individuals not have a card, they must access the campus at Gate 5 in DF Malherbe Avenue where a temporary access card will be issued to them.  Scanning for visitors and service providers is also available at Gate 1 (Nelson Mandela Drive) and Gate 5 (DF Malherbe Avenue).

The  roof structure at the main entrance will serve as a security point. Primarily, it will provide shelter from the elements for those staff manning the area.

Nico says that the plan is to complete the projects before the end of the year. The projects are currently in the planning phase.

“The gate may possibly be closed for a day or two but the main work will be done during weekends. Certain lanes may also be closed from time to time to ensure the safety of both users and construction workers,” says Nico.

Staff and students will be advised well in advance if and when the gate will be closed.

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