The campus police is here to stay. Or is it?

In February 2021, the then-minister of education, Niki Kerameus, declared in Parliament, “Let the smell of fear and lawlessness in the universities, which thrives there and nowhere else in the country, be dissolved once and for all.” That was the day the draft law on universities was voted on, which included the introduction of the campus police force known as the University Institutions Protection Teams (OPPI). These would be staffed by lower-ranking police officers and special guards who would undergo training for their mission on university grounds.

However, the campus police force has been dissolved for now, although the conservative government prefers to talk about a redesign rather than a dissolution. As far as lawlessness in universities is concerned, we can continue to express opinions, propose solutions, and monitor which practices are followed abroad for safety and calm in higher education institutions, which we do not adopt in Greece.

The truth is that this plan did not start very well, because in essence it was not a plan. There was no organization or serious thought, and all the parameters had not been properly studied, as should have been done, for a measure whose implementation was politically difficult, but mainly operationally. Also, the government appeared determined in theory, but it emitted a constant ambivalence, which looked like an extended announcement of the abolition of the university police.

After all, the image of the members of OPPI standing on the sidewalk opposite the gates of the University of Athens (EKPA) and the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and simply being the target of slogans by the students was a bad joke.

But let us assume that the conservative government will not abolish the university police, but will redesign it. Shouldn’t there be a consultation this time? Should an agreement not be sought on the basis of common goals? Or at least have a serious discussion, which will not be ideologically and politically charged but honest?

Indeed, there is a problem that has been dragging on for decades. However, the basic prerequisite for the successful implementation of measures with an increased degree of difficulty, which aim to break decades-old mentalities, is political consensus. At no point and from no opposition party, even if their reasoning was different, was there ever consensus on the establishment of a university police force. In order to avoid a repeat of the fiasco, the government needs alliances, within and outside the universities. Violence in universities is a very serious matter and there is no room for off-the-cuff experiments.