Students at universities across the UK have complained of increased police presence and unannounced searches on campus and at their accommodation to enforce government guidelines.
One first-year student living in Froggatt Halls in Endcliffe, said to The Guardian that police have been patrolling the area in which several halls of residence are located every weekend, with her flat visited three times in the last month.
“The first time was at 1.30am and I was in bed. We had left our door on the latch, so the police officer came in and was quite aggressive. Across the hall I could see another police officer talking to a girl alone in her flat, asking how many people lived there,” she said. “It’s an invasion of privacy.”
A University of Sheffield spokesperson said: “The University has a responsibility to protect its students, staff and the wider community by implementing Covid-19 regulations on our campus.
“The police have attended our residences with security staff in response to specific reports of breaches of Covid-19 laws.”
This has been the case earlier this year, when the police shut down a party of 150 students at a Ranmoor flat, issuing £34,000 worth of fines.
The University spokesperson added: “We have been clear and consistent with our messaging and the requirement of our students to follow Government Covid-19 rules throughout the pandemic, while also providing practical and emotional support to students who may be struggling at this time.”
Students from the University of Manchester have been working alongside Netpol, the police monitoring network to publish a report on the increased police presence around campus.
The report asks that the police only arrive on campus when students report an incident. It states: “The intrusive police presence on campus has created an atmosphere of fear among students. Many students have reported feeling unsafe, some to the extent of having panic attacks, due to the ability of … the police to enter their homes at any moment.”
A spokesperson for Netpol said to The Guardian that the network has received similar reports from students in Bristol, Sussex, Sheffield and Northumbria and is working with the National Union of Students to develop guidance for students on their civil rights.
The president of the NUS, Larissa Kennedy, said: “[During the pandemic there have been] increased numbers of police patrols who have been given more powers than ever before. On and off campus, this has routinely resulted in harassment, racial profiling and severe impacts on students’ mental health. Black and Muslim students often face the sharpest consequences.”
Image: Forge Press