Crime at school – tips for student safety

As a student or a pupil, returning to university or school seems daunting enough. Apart from being worrying about books and pencils, do you ever stop to think about your safety on campus?

Assa Abloy, a global supplier of intelligent lock and security solutions, has started an initiative called National Home Security Month (NHSM) and continue to inform communities about bettering their safety and what to look out for in potentially dangerous situations. NHSM will be in June this year.

“Students are a high risk group for theft as they have more expensive consumer goods per head, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops,” said Hayley Elwen, the Marketing & Business Development Manager at  Assa Abloy.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when it comes to your safety at school or on campus this year:

• Often underestimated, padlocks offer an easy and affordable way to secure individual bags and lockers, and they act as a deterrent, keeping personal belongings safe.

• More and more students are riding bicycles to school or around campus as a convenient way to travel.

“However, bicycles are one of the five most commonly stolen items on campus, as burglars can use them for a quick getaway. Use both a robust chain and high security padlock, which cannot be easily broken, for extra security,” Hayley added.

“Remember, with padlocks it’s best to keep the shackle, the section that holds the chain together, as small as possible, so crowbars cannot be inserted to break the shackle.”

• For those walking around campus or to private student accommodation, often late at night, a personal attack alarm is a good idea. It is small and easy to carry, when activated it emits a loud noise, attracting the attention of people nearby.

• There are a number of phone or tablet apps that allow you to track your phone if it is stolen. Also, there are personal safety apps, allowing you to press a single button in an emergency, which then sends an sms to designated people.

• For those living away at university, security can seem like an impossible task as hundreds of students walk freely around campus. Student accommodation frequently changes hands, so check with the landlord when the locks were last changed and if the keys are restricted or patented, meaning they cannot be copied without proof of ownership or easily duplicated due to their unique design.

• For individual residence rooms, purchasing a small safety storage box or a safe is advisable for secure storage of tablets, laptops, and other valuable items and important documentation.