Athalia Reynolds, Staff Reporter

The United Theological College (UTC) campus, located on Golding Avenue across from the University of the West Indies (UWI), has been constantly plagued by gunmen, who often break into the rooms of students and lecturers.

Lesley Anderson, president of the institution, admits to The Sunday Gleaner that even his room has been broken into.

In October, three students were attacked by armed gunmen who entered the school compound by climbing a wall. A year before that, two female students were raped at gun point while studying on the school grounds.

The cases of assault and robbery at the UTC campus are numerous; however, college officials said, over the years, they have exhausted school funds in a bid to beef up security on campus.

"We have done everything humanly possible to ensure that our campus is safe," Anderson tells The Sunday Gleaner. The recent erection of a wall, barbed-wire fencing and the relocation of the security post to the entrance of the compound are all in a bid to ward off criminals. According to the UTC president, the school has hired not one, but two security companies to patrol the campus at nights.

Panic buttons

A security company was also brought in to install panic buttons in the rooms of the students and lecturers. Each individual is also equipped with a whistle to raise an alarm in the event of an emergency.

But students argue that it takes more to keep them safe and are calling for more effective and long-term methods of security. Until then, however, many have opted to live elsewhere.