Students feel secure on Langara College campus after summer lockdown

Reported by Lisa Tanh

Though students were surprised that a robbery took place at Langara College last July, they have trust in the campus security protocols after a quick arrest by Vancouver police.

On July 21, during night classes, two students were robbed at gun-point. Security personnel initiated a lockdown and informed the police, who arrested the robber a short while later close to Main Street and East 17th Ave. Within an hour the lockdown was lifted and students were free to leave classes.

Students still feel safe after lockdown incident over the summer

Nainpreet Uppal, a bioinformatics student at Langara College, was surprised that a robbery had happened on campus.

“These things can happen, but I don’t doubt the security system here,” Uppal said. “This [incident] proves the system is quite good and fast, and the best thing was that nobody was hurt.”

VPD unable to comment on the incident

Constable Jason Doucette, media spokesperson with the Vancouver Police Department, could not comment on the robbery as the case is now before court, but said that the security firms on Vancouver’s campuses are crucial during security incidents.

“They assist us in allocating our resources in a way that can get everyone safe and come to a successful resolution,” Doucette said. “They are our eyes and ears.”

Michele Bowers, chair of Langara College’s counselling department said she is not aware of students wanting to talk about the summer incident, and that generally campus security is not a frequent topic of discussion.

“Events in the world have raised our concerns and hyper-vigilance around safety,” Bowers said, referring to high-profile shootings and other security incidents across the world over the last decade. “I think, there is more of an institutional level of concern around safety and responsiveness to critical incidents.”