Student volunteers
Students are helping cut crime on campus thanks to an initiative between the University of Portsmouth and Hampshire police.
Twelve students on courses from criminology to entertainment technology have signed up to help prevent crime on campus and already their work has resulted in a drop in some low-level anti-social problems.
The scheme is so novel and seen as having potential to help keep students safe that other police forces have asked to learn more and potentially copy the model in other university cities in England.
Alice Hickman, volunteer and graduate recruitment officer at the university, is helping run the scheme.
She said: “It’s a really nice scheme and the students who have volunteered are getting to see the community side of policing and they’re really getting something out of that.
“Most of the volunteers are thinking or hoping of applying to become police officers once they’ve graduated, and by volunteering they are gaining a better understanding of policing as well as being given a flexible way of volunteering.”
The students are trained by the university’s police officer Dave Fairbrother to offer crime prevention advice, including how to avoid becoming a victim of burglary or theft.
They are working in halls of residence working with first- year students living away from home for the first time, in buildings which attract large numbers of students, such as the library, and on the city’s streets close to university buildings, where they are advising on burglary, vehicle crime and cyber crime.
Dave Fairbrother said: “We wanted to support and encourage student volunteers to help reduce crime on campus and since they’ve started we have seen an effect, including a drop in fire alarms being set off falsely.
“Students are much happier to talk to other students and because they work in high-visibility clothing, they are proving to be a good crime deterrent and helping make the university safer.
“The programme is also helping boost the volunteers’ confidence and skills. They are vetted by Hampshire police, given basic training and I support them completely, but one of the biggest benefits to them is they will all be given a reference which says they were trusted and have been effective. They are all now approaching people and introducing themselves and talking about preventing crime so are growing in confidence. Those sort of things are vital in giving them the edge when it comes to applying for jobs when they graduate.”
The volunteers dedicate a minimum of an hour a week to work on the programme.
