Following a spate of break-ins in the student flats – when burglars even threw bricks through windows to get at valuables – students have asked Idealis for camera surveillance and security blinds. However, the student housing agency has decided that these measures are too radical, as apparent from its correspondence to Dijkgraaf residents. One can conclude that the social housing provider finds that camera surveillance is too expensive and the presence of cameras goes against privacy laws. Blinds cannot provide sufficient protection, says the local police, since they would not be pulled down throughout the day.
Wait and see
Dijkgraaf residents are pleased that Idealis has taken some measures, even though these are not as vigilant as they had hoped for, says a resident. ‘But lighting is something, even if it has taken an entire month for them to be installed, which is two and a half months after the first break-in. We will now wait and see if the situation changes or if we will be caught unawares again after some time. The past month has been peaceful, perhaps due to the snow and the cold.’ Moreover, security company Securitas makes regular patrols around the flats. This surveillance will end next week. The location of the extra lighting in Dijkgraaf is currently being tested. The lights beside Dijkgraaf 2 are located on the outside. If the test positioning works well, lights will be installed across the entire ground floor.