RRC Polytech adds security, locks doors at downtown campus

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This article was published 02/12/2024 (309 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RRC Polytech has restricted access to its downtown Winnipeg campus in an effort to boost security amid inner-city safety concerns.

Security guards were stationed at entrances to RRC’s three Exchange District campus buildings Monday checking student IDs. Entrances were cordoned off and security guards were only permitting staff, students or members of the public with “legitimate” reasons to enter.

RRC announced last week it would be beefing up security measures to “enhance campus security and access control” at the Exchange District campus before it fully implements new security measures in January.

“We’re looking at some of the downtown challenges that we all know exist, and then what we’re looking at is: how do we make staff and students feel comfortable coming to and from campus?” RRC Polytech director of safety, health and security services, Jodi Pluchinski, said Monday afternoon.

Additional security officers were stationed Monday at entrances to the campus’s Roblin Centre, Manitou a bi Bii daziigae and Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. Doorways that don’t have security present will remain locked, RRC Polytech human resources officer Melanie Gudmundson said in an email to staff and students last week.

The college has also boosted its safe ride service by adding a second vehicle to its fleet.

The service provides escorts for students, staff and visitors between two points at the campus or somewhere nearby (like a parking lot). It averages 100 rides per day at the Exchange District campus, Pluchinski said, nearly double the 65 rides recorded two years ago.

First-year social innovation and community development student Desirae Gonczy described the increased security presence as “a bit hostile.”

“I think there’s pros and cons to it,” she said outside the Manitou a bi Bii daziigae building, the campus’s latest addition that opened in 2021.

“If someone needs to warm up, it was a completely public building, but there were also times when you’d go into the washroom and there’s people sleeping in the bathroom stalls with all their belongings. It’s a bit intimidating to some people.”

Gonczy says the boosted security is likely in response to the number of homeless people gaining access to the building.

“I understand why they’re trying to do it, but have different options for those people, rather than just saying, ‘No, you need to get out,’” she said.

Pluchinski said the increase in security was a proactive move and not due to to any particular incident.

“Safety and security is our top priority. And really, we want to make sure that people have access to the spaces that are open to them,” she said.

In July, the province announced $1.5 million for a downtown safety action plan and $435 million for the Downtown Community Safety Partnership for its patrol program.

RRC Polytech will work with the Downtown Community Safety Partnership and organizations such as the Bear Clan Patrol to connect individuals in the community to the organization that is best suited to their needs.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said at the time that the city cannot continually be threatened by safety issues and “let unwell people determine the state of our downtown.”

The Winnipeg Police Service would not say how many calls police have responded to at the Notre Dame and Exchange District campuses since August, citing privacy.

Post-secondary campus safety has been put under the microscope in recent months after several incidents prompted police response.

On Oct. 28, an intruder assaulted a woman in her dorm room at the University of Manitoba. Last weekend, two unidentified men attacked a woman near the Brandon University campus.

A report of a man wielding a knife on Nov. 19 triggered the first-ever lockdown at the U of M. Police later said there was no way to substantiate the report and they were no longer looking for a suspect.

A fire that broke out on the fifth floor of an RRC building on William Avenue forced the evacuation of the building on Nov. 22. There were no injuries reported and the fifth floor reopened Monday. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Earlier this year, police charged 23-year-old Treysten Porteous with arson and theft after he allegedly stole thousands of dollars worth of electronic equipment before setting fire to a room at RRC’s Princess Street campus while class was in session.

The Exchange District campus began offering free self-defence classes in October to staff and students.

Gonczy said she, at times, feels unsafe in the area but pointed to substance use as a driver of downtown safety issues and increased rates of homelessness in the inner-city.

“I definitely look over my shoulder a bit more in this area,” she said. “It sucks that a lot of it is influenced by substance use, so you kind of have to be careful.”

Beginning in January, access to the downtown campus for staff and students will require a valid staff or student ID card. Members of the public must have a stated reason for visiting the campus such as visiting Tim Hortons, student services, the campus store, culinary exchange, or Jane’s.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca