As thousands of new students arrive in Oxford, Thames Valley Police have launched a new operation to prevent students becoming the victims of crime. As part of Operation Bachelor students will be given crime awareness packs, plain-clothes police will patrol areas to check security, and there will be crime prevention information available for foreign students.
As thousands of new students arrive in Oxford, Thames Valley Police have launched a new operation to prevent students becoming the victims of crime.
As part of Operation Bachelor students will be given crime awareness packs, plain-clothes police will patrol areas to check security, and there will be crime prevention information available for foreign students.
The launch of the crime awareness packs and police patrols comes after concerns that students new to the city are targeted by thieves. In August a criminal posing as a plain-clothes policeman robbed a student of his phone and money.
The thief claimed to be investigating the theft of a mobile telephone and searched the student’s bag before confiscating his phone. He told the student that he could collect his belongings at the police station later.
Thames Valley Police Press Officer Adam Fisher told Cherwell, “The universities do a lot of awareness work during Freshers’ Week and have their own crime reduction advisor. From a police point of view any awareness packs are beneficial if they increase the safety understanding of students.”
Delia Sinclair, city councillor and board member for crime and community safety, praised the operation, saying, “This sounds like a good idea. Anything which helps keep students safe is a positive”.
In a statement OUSU spokesman Sarah Santhosham said, “The Oxford University Student Union has good relations with the police and the Security Services, and they work together on issues relating to student safety.’
‘Operation Bachelor is designed to make students more aware of their personal safety, preventing them from being victims of crime, a threat that is particularly prevalent when students return to Oxford. We welcome these initiatives as a means of ensuring students are informed of ways to increase their safety and do not fall victim to crime while in Oxford.”
