Police Give Loughborough Students Lessons In DNA

STUDENTS from Loughborough University who live off campus have been receiving practical advice on how to keep themselves and their possessions safe, as well as how to build positive relationships with local residents.

Charnwood Community Safety Partnership, which consists of several key agencies including Loughborough Police, Charnwood Borough Council, and the local fire service, is responsible for the new scheme which involves tips on how to secure student residences, bike security, and the use of SelectaDNA property marking kits to protect personal belongings from theft.

Inspector Tim McCabe, Commander of Loughborough local policing unit, said: “We know that students can be victims of crime, particularly burglary, and that the majority of these crimes can be easily avoided if doors and windows are locked, bikes secured and property coded, so this initiative is designed to get as much crime prevention information out to students who live off campus as we can.”

When students start university or college they often bring with them many items that are targets for thieves such as TVs, computers, games consoles, DVD players, iPods, bikes and mobile phones. It can cost students approximately £900 to replace stolen items and repair the damage after a burglary.

A spokesperson from Loughborough Students Union said: “The safety of Loughborough Students living in the community is one of our main priorities. We are working with local residents, the university and Charnwood Borough Council to develop new initiatives such as this which ensure a cohesive approach to student welfare in the community.”

As part of the scheme, The Community Safety Partnership has produced a 'Top 10 Tips' leaflet for students, many of whom are living off campus for the first time. It includes information on how to live responsibly in the local community, as well as advising students on issues such as council tax, parking permits, rubbish collections. It also includes tips on deterring thieves, such as:

Ensure that valuable items cannot be seen through windows from outside. When going out make sure doors are locked and windows are shut – even if you’re only gone for a short time. In many cases it takes a burglar just minutes to break in, steal property and leave.

Keep laptops out of sight and ensure that you back up work regularly and store the disks separately.

If you have a burglar alarm, use it – this is often enough to deter thieves and consider investing in timer switches for lights giving the impression that someone’s in when you’re out. If you live in halls of residence, lock your door even if you’re popping down the corridor and make sure nobody follows you in when you walk through main entrances.

When leaving your bike unattended, make sure you lock it to something secure and immovable and take removable parts (saddle, quick-release wheels, lights etc.) with you or lock them to the bike.

Make a list of all your valuables and use a SelectaDNA property marking kit to deter theft. If you become the victim of a burglary, stolen property that is marked can be returned to the rightful owner if it is recovered by police.

The kits are being supplied by Charnwood Council and contain a bottle of the SelectaDNA formula, which consists of an ultraviolet tracer and a unique DNA code. The clear liquid can be applied by students to any personal item to identify it as belonging to them. If it is stolen and later recovered by police, the item can be scanned by police and traced back to the rightful owner via the DNA marking.

Alison Fadesco from Charnwood Borough Council, said: “We have had an excellent response from students wanting to protect their property with SelectaDNA kits. They are finding it very easy to use and have been telling all their friends that they have got to get a kit too.”