Hassam Munir | Executive Editor (Online)
Featured image: Students are happy to see fewer security bulletins in their inboxes this year. | Victoria Fung
Fewer security bulletins were issued in the first semester of 2016 than in any of the past five academic years, an absence that many in the York community have noticed in their email inboxes.
A mere two security bulletins were released in the first semester of the current academic year, compared to 12 in the same period in 2015, seven in 2014, eight in 2013, 12 in 2012 and three in 2011. This tally does not include security bulletins issued for weather-related updates.
Both of the bulletins from last semester were released on the same day, as they revolved around the fatal stabbing in The Village that occurred in the early-morning hours of September 13, 2016.
The assailant, 31-year-old York student Alijan Khan, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The victim, Alp Efe, was not a York student.
Nearly all security bulletins in previous years have reported incidents of robbery, sexual and/or physical assault. The security bulletin of fall 2016 was the first case of murder since October of 2011.
York Security Services did not respond to requests for comments on these trends at the time of publication.
“It’s definitely odd and quite different not to see those emails in my inbox anymore. I’m hoping that things have changed for the better and there are less crimes to report. I hope it’s a trend that will continue,” says Mariam Ahmed, fourth-year English student.
“Not receiving those emails helps me focus on my education instead of having to worry about whether or not I, or someone I care about, will be targeted.”
Security bulletins are issued whenever a serious or non-serious but recurring incident occurs on
York property, as well as when an investigation can be supported by asking witnesses or others with relevant information to step forward.
Ahmed believes that the lack of security bulletins last semester does not imply that York’s security services have made any compromises on their criteria for issuing them.
“I trust York’s security services to do their job well, but I also believe that the community should fully appreciate and acknowledge their sincere efforts to make York a safe and pleasant place to attend,” she says.
It remains to be seen how long this decline in reported security-related incidents will continue and how far it will go toward challenging York’s long-standing reputation as a hotbed for criminal activity.
