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Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has backed a new operation helping to protect students in Durham from being targeted by burglars and thieves.
Thousands of students arrive in Durham City and the surrounding villages every year to study, with most having never lived away from home previously.
Previous data shows criminals often target student properties due to the high concentration of valuable gadgets present including mobile phones, laptops, consoles and bikes.
Student properties are also empty for long periods of the year as students return home for the holidays.
Durham Constabulary has been working closely with safety partners including the PCC and Durham University to raise awareness of the risks among new students to prevent crime.
The campaign has seen the roll out of several proactive interventions from the development of welcome safety packs distributed to student lettings agents across Durham City to the launch of a pilot in Atherton Street, Durham, trialling a new locking solution, funded by Durham University.
Additionally, neighbourhood policing officers are monitoring the movements of known offenders during peak times to stop crime before it happens.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner has funded leaflets and a life-size cut out of a ‘hairy hand’ engagement prop which is being used during proactive policing operations to deter students from leaving their properties or vehicles unattended or unlocked and becoming ‘easy pickings’ for criminals.
In other measures, police and partners have written proactively to landlords to inform them about the scheme while the city’s Police Problem-Solving Team have produced nudge leaflets which are being targeted in key areas. Partners are also working with Student Union representatives and university liaison personnel to ensure the message gets across.
The joint action follows a positive meeting between the force, the PCC, Durham University and safety partners in December last year.
Commissioner Joy Allen said: “Students are a prime target for thieves because of the relative ease at which they can pull off their crimes and the high rewards available.
“More than 22,000 students attend Durham University and this is a huge pool of potential victims for thieves to target.This is why work started long before freshers’ week to help landlords and students themselves prepare and take action to mitigate the risk.
“So much of the crime on our streets is preventable with the right tools and advice, and this is what this scheme is all about. But alongside tailored crime prevention measures, criminals should be aware that their activities are also being closely monitored and those who persist in plundering our student communities will likely receive more than they bargained for.”
Safer Neighbourhoods is a key priority in the PCC’s new Police, Crime and Justice Plan, reflecting the views of the residents and businesses she serves.
Within the Plan, the PCC has vowed to target high crime/ASB hotspots, low public confidence and high foot fall and additionally to ensure policing activities within neighbourhoods are targeted according to the needs of different communities, taking account of threat,risk, harm and vulnerability.
The force believes the number of burglary and theft incidents is likely to be much higher than data shows due to many incidents not being reported to the police.
The PCC recently launched a major youth engagement project across the force area to give young people a greater say on the issues impacting their safety and to involve them in designing solutions.
Alongside engaging with primary and secondary school pupils, the Commissioner will be rolling out a survey specially for young people in college, university or in employment in September as part of her mission to develop a ‘Youth Police, Crime and Justice Plan’ that prioritises action on the issues young people raise through the surveys.
Anyone with information about student burglary or any other crime should contact Durham Constabulary on the non-urgent 101 number or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. In the event of a live crime please dial 999 and ask for the Police.
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