Organisation
WOO request on security measures: additional documents now public
Leiden University is making additional documents available relating to the WOO (Open Government Act) request on ‘Security during events’. Further analysis by the departments of Security Affairs and Legal Affairs has shown that not all the documents relating to this request were passed to the Executive Board. This omission has now been corrected.
In 2024 the Executive Board of Leiden University received several WOO requests asking for information about tightening the security arrangements at Leiden University and the involvement of the police and other security services in 2023 and 2024.
The information relating to this occasion included documents about the temporary closure of the Wijnhaven building on 1 October 2023. These measures were taken at the time in consequence of a suspect situation at this location. On that occasion discussions were held with the police and other security services.
Improved instructions
Investigations have shown that a former member of staff did not provide all the relevant documents relating to this request at that time. Leiden University is firmly committed to openness and transparency. We regret that not all documents were shared following the first WOO request – an omission that should not have happened. Now this has been established, we are making the additional documents publicly available. They can be found on the website (in Dutch).
We are looking at how we can improve our documentation system in order to avoid documents being omitted in the event of such requests in future. We are treating this as a learning experience. In addition, we are also improving the instructions to staff regarding the provision of documents for a WOO request.
New risk analysis
Finally, as part of the process of arriving at a renewed university security policy, a new risk analysis has been carried out of the security situation at Wijnhaven. Based on the outcome of this analysis, a decision will be taken regarding whether the current security measures need to be revised. The Buildings Security Measures Coordinating Team will issue a recommendation to the Executive Board in November 2025.