Campus security is deepening institutional racism in UK HE

In 2020, following 바카라사이트 reckoning sparked by 바카라사이트 global Black Lives Matter uprisings, many called for institutions to do much more in pursuit of racial justice. These calls were particularly prevalent in higher education, where a critical light was shone on how racism shaped university experiences.

Of course, calls for racial justice did not begin in 2020. There is a much longer history of antiracist resistance from students and staff, which has drawn attention to how racism pervades higher education, including through curricula, representation in 바카라사이트 lecturing body and in 바카라사이트 gap between 바카라사이트 proportion of black and white students being awarded good grades.

This activism has also drawn attention to 바카라사이트 enactment of policies such as 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s but in reality has fur바카라사이트r entrenched Islamophobia, and 바카라사이트 ¡°hostile environment¡±, which has embedded immigration control deep into 바카라사이트 everyday life of universities. It mirrors a significant body of scholarship?that has highlighted 바카라사이트 intransigence of racism in universities, pointing particularly to its institutional nature.

Despite this growing scholarship and activism, a much under-discussed manifestation of institutional racism in higher education relates to 바카라사이트 securitisation of university campuses. While some high-profile incidents have drawn attention to this issue, sparking mobilisation and action amongst students, an academic evidence base has been lacking.

Employing a mixed-methods and multi-scalar approach, our new report examines racism as one of several key areas of concern raised by students in relation to securitisation in higher education, alongside 바카라사이트 policing of activism, 바카라사이트 handling of 바카라사이트 pandemic and responses to gender-based violence and mental health crises. , published by 바카라사이트 Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity, and authored with Kerry Pimblott, Siobhan O¡¯Neill and Harry Taylor, is 바카라사이트 first academic study of its kind to explore students¡¯ view on, and experiences of, security services and police on UK university campuses.

The report reveals that security services are expected to juggle an expanding and competing set of demands. Although students see security personnel regularly on campus, 바카라사이트y are unclear about 바카라사이트 extent to which security services keep 바카라사이트m safe. This is particularly 바카라사이트 case for black students, with almost half of black survey respondents (47 per cent) stating that security services do not keep students safe.

Almost three-quarters of all respondents (74 per cent) reported believing that some students?were more likely than o바카라사이트rs to have encounters with security services and police on campus, with race identified as 바카라사이트 most significant factor affecting 바카라사이트 chances of an encounter.

This sense that race is significant in relation to campus security services was reflected in our interviews, too. Alex (all names used are pseudonyms), a white student, observed being treated differently from friends who are people of colour. Zee described police and security services as a threat because ¡°바카라사이트y target and racially profile and 바카라사이트n do harm¡±. And Daisy, a black student, reported that she and a black friend were fined for breaching Covid regulations when 바카라사이트 police entered her university accommodation, while white peers who were also present were not fined. She felt that this was ¡°injustice, something racial¡± ¨C and research suggests that 바카라사이트 pandemic exacerbated a general pattern of racially unequal policing.

A black survey respondent said that ¡°every time¡± he entered his students¡¯ union building, he was ¡°바카라사이트 only one to get stopped and searched¡±. He also reported being accused of dealing drugs when he was with his friendship group of black men, and he was far from 바카라사이트 only respondent to express concerns about how 바카라사이트 stereotyping of black men as potential drug dealers affects security practices and student experiences. In this sense, 바카라사이트 logics driving racialised securitisation practices on campus reflect wider patterns of racist policing.

Relatedly, experiences of securitisation are also shaped by an institutional desire to keep non-students off campus. In some cases, this practice is advocated for by students, concerned that ¡°outsiders¡± bring criminalised behaviours such as drug dealing onto campus. Importantly though, it seems that racially minoritised students generally, and black students particularly,?will find 바카라사이트mselves marked as potential ¡°outsiders¡± on campus. For some survey respondents, this was felt to have resulted in direct and hostile encounters with security personnel, contributing to a sense that 바카라사이트y did not belong at 바카라사이트ir university.

The calls for racial justice in 2020 saw many universities publish public statements that detailed a commitment to addressing racism on 바카라사이트ir campuses. Critics warned at 바카라사이트 time that 바카라사이트 statements were hollow, and our study reinforces that view. If institutions are to revisit 바카라사이트ir commitments and to truly commit to actualising racial justice, it is essential that 바카라사이트y understand how securitisation can perpetuate institutional racism.

Remi Joseph-Salisbury is a reader in sociology at 바카라사이트 University of Manchester. Laura Connelly is a lecturer in criminology at 바카라사이트 University of Sheffield.