Intruder found in Oriel bedroom
Gaps in security at Oriel student accommodation in Cowley were exposed last week, when an intruder managed to get inside a student’s bedroom before being disturbed. CCTV footage shows the intruder entering James Mellon Hall, a college-owned building off Cowley Road that houses second and third-years, by tailgating a student. Twenty-five minutes later, his presence was reported inside a student’s room in Goldie Wing, a renovated convent at the back of the site.
“The door to Goldie is up a ramp and quite well hidden by trees,” said Robbie Shade, one JMH resident. “The intruder must have been following someone who knew where they were going, otherwise they wouldn’t have found it.” The Oxford University Security Services and Oriel porters rushed to the scene as soon as it was reported, but by the time of their arrival the intruder had disappeared. Students who live in the accommodation have blamed the gate for the incident.
Designed to enable disabled access, it stays open long enough for a wheelchair to pass through. One second-year complained, “It’s rubbish, it takes about a minute to open to a reasonablysized gap so you can get in, so it’s not much use if you think you are being followed and want to duck in to the relative safety of JMH.
“Even if your attacker happens to be incredibly slow-moving and hasn’t quite caught up, your safety is still compromised since the gate, once opened, doesn’t close for about five or so minutes. “By then, you will most probably be dead. Unless you are being chased by a crawling baby or wheelchair bound person, the gate is pretty useless.” The intruder entered the premises as another student was leaving, and now college authorities are clamping down on tailgating.
James Methven, the Oriel Dean, sent an email to students last Wednesday warning them not to let people onto the premises unchallenged after this “serious breach of security”. “Don’t let people enter through a gate either by ‘tailgating’ you in, or by waiting to come through from the other side as you exit unless you know them personally. “If needs be - and people will just have to cope with the momentary embarrassment - ask for ID and check who the person is coming to visit.
The college will be tightening security to stop this happening again. Dougall Meston, the JCR President, said, “The long-term plan is to make a new gate that shuts and opens really quickly.” “This incident tells us what’s wrong with security at JMH and we can see how to deal with it.
2nd Nov 2006