SECURITY PROTOCOL RELATING TO SEARCHES OF STAFF PROPERTY AND PERSONS AND USE OF VISUAL MEDIA FOR DISCIPLINARY PURPOSES 1. PROTOCOL STATEMENT

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1 SECURIT PROTOCOL RELATIG TO SEARCHES OF STAFF PROPERT AD PERSOS AD USE OF VISUAL MEDIA FOR DISCIPLIAR PURPOSES 1. PROTOCOL STATEMET The Council and the Management of Rhodes University have a duty and a responsibility to safeguard the property and the assets of the University. Every employer is entitled to take reasonable steps to protect the University s assets, and therefore also has the right to search employees and their personal belongings. CCTV facilities are used across campus as a security measure, the system primarily aimed at enhancing the safety and security of staff and students. This shall however be done with due consideration of the South African Constitution, (Act 108 of 1996), and in particular the individual s right to dignity and privacy. Section 36 of the Constitution however states that the right to privacy may be limited where a legitimate purpose is to be served and the limitation is reasonable and justifiable. The University therefore reserves the right to carry out personal searches of individuals in the workplace. These searches may form part of a random search, or may be targeted to specific individuals or departments based on specific information received by the University. Further to this, the University may seize evidence uncovered as part of such a search. The University also reserves the right to use CCTV material in the investigation of staff disciplinary matters or to provide evidence in legal proceedings. Personal searches and use of CCTV material shall be performed within the provisions of the University s Staff Disciplinary Code, Policy for the Eradication of Unfair Discrimination and Harassment and any associated University policies and rules. Where staff have complaints about how searches are conducted or the use of CCTA material i.e. that their rights have been violated, the grievance procedure can be used. 2. DEFIITIOS CCTV material Campus protection guards This is video material recorded by security cameras. The University employs a range of staff and services to ensure a safe and secure campus for staff and students. Staff include the University employed Campus Protection Officers and Campus Guards while a service provider provides other guards, currently known as Hi-Tec guards. These Officers and Guards are authorised to request identification, by name and place of work, of any person found on campus at any time, and may conduct searches within the search guidelines below. Managers Senior member of staff These are staff typically in grades 14 and above who have management responsibilities as they relate to staff including the disciplining of staff. Examples of managerial positions are Head of academic departments; Manager: Food Services; Manager: Housekeeping; Manager: Administration. These are seen to be managers, Directors, Deputy Directors, Deans and Deputy Deans of the institution as well as the Director: HR, Deputy Director: HR and IR &EE Specialist of the HR Division. 1

2 Supervisor These staff are typically in grades 8 to 13 and do not have the level of people management responsibilities required of manages. They will typically deal with level 1 discipline as per the disciplinary code. Other discipline is referred to managers of the section. 3. SEARCHES The following principles shall apply: 3.1 The power to search and seize should be undertaken with circumspection and with due regard to the rights of the privacy of the individual; 3.2 There must be a reasonable suspicion to believe that evidence will be found that may be relevant to a breach of law or the Staff Disciplinary Code; 3.3 The search shall be no more intrusive than is necessary for the purpose of locating evidence; 3.4 Random mass searches must be authorised by the relevant Dean or Director in advance. This may include the ad hoc searching of individuals leaving or entering certain premises; 3.5 After authorization from the relevant line manager, individuals may be searched if reasonable grounds exist for believing that evidence of the commission or attempted commission of a disciplinary offence may be concealed by the individual; 3.6 Searches will be carried out in private by Campus Protection guards (either Rhodes staff or Hi Tec staff) of the same sex as the individual being searched; 3.7 Searches shall be witnessed by a senior member of staff (at least grade 15 and above or associate professor and above) and, where requested, the individual being searched may be accompanied by a colleague of his or her choosing. It is up to the individual to decide if such a colleague shall be a union shop-steward. It is not up to the University to insist that a union shop-steward is present; 3.8 The search and seizure must be conducted by a minimum of two people, usually the senior member of staff and a Campus Protection guard or the relevant line manager; 3.9 Searches will be limited to asking the individual to empty his or her pockets, bag, locker drawers or cabinets or any office furniture or equipment that may contain evidence (as appropriate), and to remove their coat, jacket or outer clothing. If reasonable grounds exist, the security guard may frisk or pat down the individual paying due heed to the Constitutional right of the individual to be treated with dignity. Should such frisking or patting down indicate that objects have been hidden underneath clothing, the individual will be asked to remove; 3.10 Any evidence that is seized and needs to be retained as evidence for a disciplinary process shall be kept in safe keeping by the Director: Human Resources or his/her designate. At the discretion of the Director: HR or his/her designate after consultation with the Vice-Chancellor or his/her designate, the evidence may be handed to the South African Police. In the event that evidence seized that belongs to the staff member, a written receipt at the time of the seizure specifying the goods must be provided to the staff member at the time of the seizure. The template in Appendix 1 (section a) should be completed; 3.11 Should no disciplinary process be followed in terms of the Staff Disciplinary Code, or in the event of an outcome of not guilty, or if there is no valid grounds to retain the goods, and where the goods belong to the staff member, the evidence must be returned to the staff member within a reasonable period of time, 2

3 unless the evidence is in the possession of the South African Police. The template in Appendix 1 (section b) should be completed; 3.12 The Director: HR or his/her designate after consultation with the Vice-Chancellor or his/her designate may decide to seek the assistance of the South African Police and sniffer dogs in dealing with the possession and/or sale of narcotic substances; 3.13 A written record will be made of each search, including: The time and date of the search; The reason for the search; ames of those present; The outcome of the search; and will be signed by all parties present. The template in Appendix 1 should be completed; 3.14 Failure to consent to a search without reasonable justification or follow any lawful instruction with regards to the search may be treated as a disciplinary matter, and will be dealt with in accordance with the University s Staff Disciplinary Procedure; and 3.15 Any attempt to conceal evidence or prevent the search from taking place may be treated as a disciplinary matter, and will be dealt with in accordance with the University s Staff Disciplinary Procedure. 4. PROCESS of individual searches or searches of a limited number of individuals: 4.1 Where an individual or group is suspected of misconduct, the relevant individual should bring this to the attention of the relevant supervisor of the immediate work area or manager of the section/department; 4.2 Where this person is not the Director of a Division, the matter should be brought to the attention of the Director or in his/her absence, the Deputy Director of the relevant area or if not available, the Director: HR or his/her designate. In the case of staff in academic departments, the matter should be brought to the attention of the Dean of a Faculty or in his/her absence, the Deputy Dean or if not available, the Director: HR or his/her designate. Permission usually needs to be gained from these parties to conduct the search. Only in circumstances where delays will result in evidence being destroyed or removed, does permission not need to be provided. othing precludes the relevant line manager from contacting the HR Division staff for assistance and guidance; 4.3 The relevant supervisor or manager needs to ensure that a senior member of staff is present to witness events should s/he not be at this level; 4.4 Where a search needs to be conducted, the supervisor/manager needs to contact the Manager: Campus Protection Unit or his/her designate and request that a CPU Officer or guard or Hi Tec guard is made immediately available in the necessary work area; 4.5 Where there is a danger of staff leaving the immediate work area and removing evidence, the staff member/s should be instructed to remain at work. The staff member should be advised that failure to follow this instruction will result in a disciplinary hearing taking place as they have failed to follow a reasonable instruction; 4.6 In the case of staff on grades 1 to 5 and provided that the staff member is a member of the union, the full time shop-steward or if s/he is cannot be reached, the shop-steward for that immediate work area should be contacted to join the parties immediately. In the case of staff on grades 6+ and academic staff and provided that the staff member is a member of the union, one of the TEU chairs should be contacted to join the parties immediately. Upon the arrival of the shop-steward, the staff member should be advised that over 3

4 and above the union shop-steward, s/he may have someone of his/her choice present. That person should be called. If the person is unavailable, the shop-steward will remain to observe proceedings. There should be no unreasonable delays as result of staff being unable to locate the person of their choice; 4.7 Where the staff member is not a member of the union, the supervisor/manager should find another witness. The staff member should be advised that there is suspicion that misconduct has occurred and s/he may have a colleague of their choice to be present. This person should be called. If the person is unavailable, the witness will remain to observe proceedings; 4.8 When the CPU Officer/guard/Hi Tec guard arrives, s/he should be informed privately about the supervisor s/manager s suspicions, that a search needs to be conducted; 4.9 The supervisor/manager, in front of the CPU Officer/guard/Hi Tec guard, the shop-steward or further witness or colleague/s of choice and the staff member/s, explains the purpose of the meeting and that a search is to be conducted; 4.10 The supervisor/manager should explain to the staff member/s the rights that they have in terms of the search; 4.11 The supervisor/manager should tell the staff member what process will be followed; 4.12 The staff member/s will be asked to empty their pockets, bag/s, locker drawers or cabinets or any office furniture or equipment (as appropriate), and to remove their coat/s, jacket/s or outer clothing. If reasonable grounds exist, the CPU Officer/guard or Hi Tec guard may frisk or pat down the individual/s. If there are reasonable grounds to suspect evidence hidden under clothing, the staff member will be asked to remove this evidence; 4.13 There should be no questioning of the staff member/s or interaction with the staff member e.g. if they deny that the items are theirs; 4.14 A written record is then to be made of each search, including: The time and date of the search; The reason for the search; ames of those present and in what capacity; The outcome of the search. All items should be clearly described; Process followed namely that the person was advised of their rights in the process, the person was afforded the opportunity to have a colleague of their own present, that the process as per point 4 above was followed; If the evidence belongs to the staff member, a written receipt needs to be given to the staff member concerned All parties present are then requested to sign the record. Where the person being searched and/or their colleague refuses to sign the written record, this will also be recorded. Two signatures are required to ensure that the record is valid. 5. PROCESS of Random searches; 5.1 Where a Director or Dean has made a decision to conduct random mass searches, this will be communicated to the relevant unions and the Director: HR including the area in which searches will be conducted. The interval and/or date and time at which searches are to be conducted does not have to be communicated; 5.2 Where such a search is to be conducted at the same place on an ad hoc basis e.g. entering or leaving a particular building or in a kitchen, relevant signage should instruct all individuals that the University reserves 4

5 the right to conduct a search of pockets, bags, etc. and to ask the person to remove their jackets and clothing. o frisking or patting down will take place; 5.3 Where a particular individual is suspected of misconduct, the process in section 4 above needs to be followed. 6. USE OF CCTV MATERIAL 6.1 Reasonable attempts will be made to protect the privacy of individuals and their rights of free association and free expression within the law. However, it must be recognized that there will be times where restricting access to CCTV material is legitimately required in order to investigate inter alia: A claim or complaint of one staff member against another; The suspected breach of a health and safety issue by a staff member; The suspected misconduct of a staff member; The suspected illegal conduct of a staff member; 6.2 The owners of CCTV material shall be those responsible for the installation and management thereof e.g Material emanating from the cameras in the Department of Geography belongs to that department; Material emanating from cameras in the kitchen belongs to the Residential Operations Section of the Infrastructure and Operations Division; Material emanating from cameras in the student computer laboratories belongs to the Information Technology Division; Material emanating from cameras in public areas belongs to the Campus Protection Unit of the Infrastructure and Operations Division; 6.3 The owners of such CCTV material are responsible for ensuring: Proper signage indicating that CCTVs are being used; Proper control of access to such CCTV material; Permission to access footage for purposes of staff disciplinary processes must be sought from the Director: Human Resources and/or designate. The template in Appendix 2 needs to be completed. As such the footage will only be looked to investigate a suspected misconduct or to identify other alleged perpetrators; 6.4 Where permission has been given to access footage (as per above), the following shall apply: Only the CCTV material related to the suspected time frame of the alleged offence will be provided in an appropriate format and looked at; Any costs associated with accessing the material and copying it, will be covered by the HR Division as this constitutes part of the disciplinary process; If during the viewing of the material, another offence by the same staff member is identified, this shall also form part of the investigation against this staff member; If during the view of the material, another staff member is implicated in a misconduct, an investigation will commence against that staff member; Such CCTV material may be used during any further disciplinary proceedings and will be treated in the same way as other evidence; After proceedings are completed including any referral to the CCMA, the material will be destroyed; With thanks to the following sources: Document written for search and seizures for students by Director: Special Projects Document written by staff in Department of Geography related to use of CCTV material Written: Directors: Res Ops and Human Resources Last updated: January

6 Appendix 1: RECORD OF SEARCH AS PART OF THE STAFF DISCIPLIAR CODE IVESTIGATIG OFFICERS ame of senior member of staff involved in search ame of Campus Protection Guard involved in search Department Campus Protection Unit STAFF MEMBER IVOLVED I SEARCH AD SEIZURE (separate form to be completed for each staff member involved) ame of staff member Identity number DETAILS OF OTHERS PRESET AT SEARCH Staff member s choice of representative if they want someone other than the shop-steward to be present Department Shop-steward name + name of union Department at RU Department at RU Witness name Any other person present Department at RU Department at RU Reason for being present Reason for being present DETAILS OF SEARCH AD SEIZURE Date Time Purpose of search 6

7 a) Was the staff member advised that a search process was to take place and they were to remain at work? b) Was the staff member advised that should they fail to remain at work, that this would result in disciplinary action being taken? Confirm that the following process was followed in ensuring that the rights of the staff member were protected c) Was the staff member asked if they were a member of the union? If yes, they were advised that a union official had been called. d) Was the staff member advised that if they so wished, they could also have a further representative of their choice? e) Were reasonable attempts made to locate the shop-steward and/or the representative of choice? If es, then please detail. f) When the search took place was this done by an appropriate gender? g) Did the body search focus only on outer clothing and a frisk or pat? h) If the frisk and pat indicated that something was hidden underneath clothing, was the staff member asked to remove this her/himself? i) If the staff member refused to remove items or denied their presence, were they advised that failure to co-operate would result in aggravating the situation? j) Was a record kept of all items seized from the search? If yes, itemize below. Items seized that belong to Rhodes University (detail is important and must allow for identification of item/s where possible). 7

8 Section a: RECEIPT OF ITEMS SEIZED Items seized that belong to staff member or were found to be in staff member s possession as reported by staff member (detail is important and must allow for identification of item/s where possible). This serves as a receipt that the items listed in (b) above have been seized as evidence and will be handed over to the Director: Human Resources or designate within the next 2 working days. ame Witness Copies: Staff member, IR& EE Specialist in HR Division Section b: RETUR OF ITEMS SEIZED (only completed if items of belonging to staff member are seized) The following items have been returned to the staff member ame of staff member This serves as a receipt that the items listed above that were seized as evidence have now been returned to the staff member. ame of HR representative Witness Copies: Staff member, IR& EE Specialist in HR Division 8

9 Appendix 2: PERMISSIO TO ACCESS CCTV MATERIAL AS PART OF A STAFF DISCIPLIAR IVESTIGATIO IVESTIGATIG OFFICERS ame of senior member of staff involved in investigation Department Date STAFF MEMBER WHO IS ALLEGED TO HAVE EGAGED I MISCODUCT (separate form to be completed for each staff member involved) ame of staff member Identity number Department DETAILS OF CCTV MATERIAL REQUEST Reason for requiring access to CCTV material Alleged misconduct or evidence that is being sought Date/s or period during which alleged misconduct took place Approximate time that the alleged misconduct took place Intended use of material APPROVAL FOR ACCESS TO CCTV MATERIAL Application Approved ot approved Reason/s for non-approval: Conditions for approval ame of Director: HR or designate 9