POLICE GIVE NEW STUDENTS CRIME PREVENTION LESSONS
06 September 2007
Whatever course you’ve signed up for at college, it’s important to learn some crime prevention lessons to help stop crime affecting your studies.
Students often own expensive equipment such as lap-tops, iPods and stereos so they can be seen as lucrative and easy targets for thieves. Their busy social life also means they need to consider their personal safety while out and about in town.
Gloucester Police and the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership therefore set up a stand at the freshers’ fayre at GLOSCAT’s Llanthony Road building today to give new entrants some tips on how to keep themselves and their valuables safe.
Crime Reduction Officer PC Kevin Ireland said: "Gloucester is a pleasant and safe place to live but, like everywhere, there is a criminal element and thieves will be quick to exploit opportunities created by young people who may be concentrating more on their courses and exciting new social life than on safeguarding their valuables and personal safety.
"Becoming a victim of crime can be both traumatic and very inconvenient, for example, you may have to do an important piece of coursework all over again if it’s on a stolen lap-top. Whatever courses you’re doing therefore, it’s really important to listen to a few lessons in crime prevention."
The officers also offered to security-code students’ mobiles and gave out trolley coins to visitors to the stand. The substitute £1 coins, featuring the Gloucester CDRP logo and website address, are for use in supermarket trolleys, gym lockers or other places where a £1 coin deposit is needed. By using the CDRP "coins" which are on a key ring, residents are able to avoid getting out their purses in public places like supermarket car parks where they could become a victim of robbery.
Tips for Students:
Get valuables security marked and keep a note of serial numbers. This helps police prove property is stolen when an arrest is made and enables them to return it to the rightful owner.
Invest in a strong bike lock and ensure your cycle is secured whenever it is left unattended, even for a moment.
Don’t display valuables when you’re out and about. Keep mobile phone calls to a minimum in public places, for example.
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