Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Warwick Welcomes the Police to Campus

Originally published 29 September 2003


Today the University welcomes police officers to the campus. The officers are here to spearhead and tackle student crime in Coventry.

Community partnership officer Peter Sturgeon, Police Constable Sandy Ruffett, Shaun Cooley and Mick Lawrence along with other local beat officers are ready to offer crime reduction information together with equipment to security mark items of property using UV pens. Promotional material such as the fun one-off beermats, pens and pencils will also be given away free to students.

There will be a police presence every day during freshers weeks with officers working alongside colleagues from Warwickshire Police.

Police officers, Special Constabulary and university security officers will carry out high visibility patrols jointly. The aim is to provide reassurance and deter offenders from committing crime within the University by sending out a clear message that the force will not tolerate any type of crime against students.

Offenders are being warned police covert surveillance equipment will be ‘live’ with a view to deterring and identifying those committing crime.

As part of the student campaign to tackle crime, officers from Chace Avenue operational command unit will also be knocking on doors and visiting residents in the university accommodation and giving crime prevention advice such as keeping doors and windows locked, not leaving property on display and having items of high value security marked.

Officers from the road-policing unit will deployed in the area, using the latest technology to apprehend and deter offenders.

Marked police CCTV vans will record continuously and will be used throughout the campus with emphasise on vulnerable hotspots and areas where antisocial behaviour is likely.

Acting Sergeant Richard Taylor, from Canley in Coventry which covers Warwick University, said: “We are putting huge resources into the area, and a robust stance will be adopted in relation to anyone found committing crime or antisocial behaviour."

Royce Farr, head of security at the University of Warwick, said: "The crime reduction information days are part of a number of proactive initiatives run jointly between the police and the university to prevent crime on campus, and get across the safety message."

"Warwick is already one of the safest universities in the country and now we are looking at new ways of improving student safety and further deterring crime such as burglary or theft. Students who have just left home can be vulnerable, and we are working to raise awareness of crimes likely to affect students on and off campus, and more importantly, advising them how to keep safe."

Francesca Miles, welfare and equal opportunities officer at University of Warwick Student Union, added: "The work that we are doing with the police at the Students' Union is aimed at letting students know what they can do to make themselves less vulnerable to crime. Part of that is simply feeling more comfortable with the police and other security providers on campus, so that they are comfortable asking for help if they need it. But we also hope that by making students aware of how to take advantage of security provisions and how to look out for themselves (and just how easy that is to do), the campus will remain the safe place it currently is."

West Midlands Police are working in partnership with universities and student unions to tackle crimes affecting students. Students are often seen as 'easy prey' for burglars and other criminals. Car theft, burglary and having a purse, wallet or bag stolen continue to be the most common crimes affecting students.

For the latest news on security activities on campus see:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/insite/campus_life/welfare/personalsafety/