Police join forces with students for day of action in Redland burglary hotspot

Police and students in Bristol joined forces for a day of action against burglary.

Volunteers from UWE and Bristol University joined officers, staff from City of Bristol College and Safer Bristol staff to knock on doors, give crime reduction advice and hand out leaflets with information about what could make their homes attractive to burglars and how not to become a victim.

Thirty-seven people from five different agencies carried out door-to-door visits within Bristol's biggest burglary hotspot areas, which are part of a police campaign to tackle burglary called "In The Zone".

Beth Harding, aged 21, is studying criminology and law at UWE and volunteered on the day.

She said: "I'm really interested in joining the police and I thought it would be a good opportunity to get involved in some police work and make a contribution.

"For lots of people my age, who are studying, it's their first time living on their own in an unfamiliar place and sometimes students won't have the knowledge or experience to keep themselves and their homes safe.

"It helps to know that you have the support of the police and Safer Homes Team around you."

Detective Chief Inspector Liz Tunks, who leads the In The Zone campaign, said: "We had a very positive response from the public about the police, university and college staff being out and about in the neighbourhood to help people protect themselves from burglary.

"We want to be proactive because areas like Cotham, Redland, Bishopston, Ashley Down and Montpelier have traditionally had high numbers of student households. Those areas have also had high numbers of student burglaries because shared houses with so many laptops or phones or i-pods in one fell-swoop are an easy target for thieves.

"As a result we implemented a five-year plan to reduce the numbers of burglary in the areas by half.

"Now three years on student burglaries have fallen by 46 per cent but it is important that we are not complacent.

"We are grateful to our student volunteers for giving up their time to help their peers to be more aware of how to protect themselves."

The day of action started with teams of officers, staff and student volunteers holding briefings at City of Bristol College Ashley Down site, Redland Police Station and at a Bristol University site in St Andrew's – all within the "In The Zone" area.

The teams then went out to talk to students, knock on doors, hand out crime prevention information and arrange visits from the Safer Homes team to upgrade security.

The Safer Homes team are police carpenters funded by Bristol City Council and Safer Bristol who visit vulnerable homes in Bristol to evaluate and upgrade their locks and security for free.

Staff from council departments and police also carried out walkabouts to identify vulnerable properties and notify the owners.

During the day 133 people were referred to the Safer Homes team; 188 letters were given out to vulnerable households; and 500 free "In the Zone" tea towels were given out to students and other residents.

ENDS