Staying Safe and Secure

It is better to be safe than sorry and a few basic precautions could go a long way to securing your wellbeing. Students are seen as rich pickings by some petty criminals who can pretty well guarantee that you have a mobile phone, portable television, CD or DVD player, probably a laptop, digital camera or mp3, and maybe even a bike, a car or some designer gear. All are relatively easy to dispose of in the world they frequent. It is estimated that a third of students become victims of crime, mainly theft and burglary, but many could have been prevented. The trouble is most students are blissfully unaware of crime in our towns and cities until they fall prey to it. This is particularly true of freshers partying in their first few weeks at university who are not 'street-wise' about the local area. More often than not student victims are the worse for wear, having taken too much advantage of drinks promotions in a club or pub. The figures speak for themselves; about 20 per cent of student robberies occur in the first six weeks of the academic year.

The table summarises crime rates in those 25 towns and cities (not London) with two or more universities profiled in University Cities and focuses on those issues most likely to affect students.

We make no apology for publishing these figures together with the tips which follow on the basis that 'forearmed is forewarned'. They are compiled from official police data and, whilst not perfect, give a much more realistic picture than you might get from scare stories in the press or questionable claims about safety in the odd prospectus. If safety and security are significant factors in your choice of where to study then here are some hard facts for you to consider.

Local statistics about crimes solely against students are not available but, after seeking expert advice, we have chosen three as likely to be the most relevant, namely burglary, robbery and assault. The data are rolling averages for the three years to 2009 per 1,000 population. Definitions differ somewhat for Scotland and thus figures for the Scottish university cities are listed separately and should not be compared with the others.

These figures are also likely to over-represent crime levels. This is because they are based on resident populations and hence take no account of short-stay visitors and commuters. The likelihood of your becoming a victim are therefore less in real terms than these figures might suggest. However, for the cities listed, this reporting problem is a common issue and hence the relative crime rates are still valid.

Next page: Top Tips to Stay Safe