CAW plagued by weekend of break-ins and student arrests
By Natasha Marar
News Editor
January 30, 2008
 A series of break-ins and fights that took place at the CAW Student Centre over the weekend of Jan. 18 has spurred investigations by Windsor Police and policy revisions by the UWSA.
“The break-ins occurred late Friday night, early Saturday morning,” said Bob Cowper, Director of Campus Community Police, who indicated that the break-ins were not connected to the events that took place outside The Basement the following night.
“Someone broke a window in the UWSA office and a lap top was taken,” said Cowper. “And someone broke into the Parking Services office, and some change was missing.”
“Not all the cameras are working in the UWSA office,” he added. “To say they are working now– yes they are.”
Within the UWSA office, general manager Dale Coffin, indicated that his office as well as the new academic advocate’s office had been broken into.
“It’s [items] under $5,000 in total under all three [break ins],” said Coffin of the goods stolen from the second floor.
“We are currently working with Campus Police and their camera provider to upgrade all the camera systems in the building,” he added. “There are 32 cameras in the building, and on the south end of the second floor there are three.”
A suspect has yet to be identified with the upstairs break-ins, which are still pending review of the security cameras.
In an unrelated event on the night of the Jan. 19, the student group Fusion held an event at The Basement called Passa Passa, which saw the pub reach capacity. Passa Passa, which features performances by several musical acts, has been held at the student pub on other occasions–most recently on Sept. 29, 2007.
Fusion plans events throughout the year that aim to unify the diverse elements of the campus community.
“There was an altercation between some patrons, and it led to some arrests and further fights, and a call for police assistance from downtown,” said Cowper. “It was a matter of clearing people from the building which led to more arrests.”
“That particular night I had extra staff on in anticipation of those problems,” added Cowper, who indicated that four Campus Police officers and two off-duty Windsor Police officers were on hand at the event.
Cowper explained that one of the first fights occurred in the door way to The Basement by the coat check. “They need to come up with a better practice for where people are keeping their coats,” he remarked of the difficulty of directing people out of that area.
In total, six individuals were arrested, including two University of Windsor students. According to Cowper, trespassing, failing to leave, breach of the peace, and assaulting a police officer were some of reasons given for the arrests made by the approximately 30 Windsor Police officers present.
“I think one of the problems that existed is that people think they don’t have to leave when directed by the police, and that’s incorrect. When a police officer says you have to leave or you will get arrested they’re not joking,” he said.
“We are having talks with Campus Police to better secure the pub,” said UWSA president, William Ma.
Cowper confirmed, “I’ve already spoke to the UWSA and the pub about some things we can do including better planning...and the types of events being held and the types of crowds it will attract. There are a lot of things we can explore to take care of those things.”
Although Ma indicated that meetings between the UWSA, The Basement manager, Jason Codling, and Campus Police are “taking into account what future provisions can help with other events at the pub,” he believes that safety in The Basement was not as much a concern for last week’s incidents because the fighting occurred when the pub was closing rather than during the event.
“I'm not discounting the actual occurrences...but the event at the pub went on smoothly until the event was done,” said Ma.
Talks between the UWSA, Campus Police, and The Basement are ongoing, and so far have resulted in the installation of a new security camera in the CAW Student Centre.
Cowper explained that he would like to see more officers on hand to deal with violent situations on campus. He admits, however, that there is an expense associated with it, and that patrons may not want to see a large number of police officers at events.
Another recommendation put forth was serving alcohol in plastic cups or cans rather than from glass bottles, which can be used as weapons.
Cowper concluded, “I think that everybody needs to learn some lessons about guarding their personal safety at all times. When you see an altercation starting, leave. Follow [the police’s] direction for your own safety.”
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