toWelcomestudent life

Student safety guide

Welcome to Student Life

Starting university or college means some huge life changes - making new friends, studying in a new town, going out to new places and living independently for the first time. However, some of these changes might also increase your risk of becoming a victim of crime.

Start out in the safest way possible.Take some simple steps to protect yourself, your property and above all keep safe.

Safety and Security at Home and on CampusHalls of Residence can be an attractive target for criminals. Be aware and take some common sense precautions.

• Makesureallvaluablesareoutofsight.

• Don’tletanyoneintothebuildingunlessyouknowthemorhaveseenidentification.

• Don’tletanyoneyoudon’tknowfollowyouthoughacontrolleddoorway.

• Ifyou’reorderingatakeaway,don’tgivethedeliverydriverthekeypadnumberforthedoor.

• Whenleavingaccommodation,lockalldoorsandwindows.

• Don’tputyournameorroomnumberonyourkeyring.Itcoulddirectathieftoyourproperty.

• Reportanysuspiciousactivitytocampussecurityorthepolice.

Renting a Property/Flat SharingIt’s essential that you properly research a potential property.

• Whenviewingaccommodation,takesomeonealong,ortellthemwhereyou’regoingandwhenyou’llbeback.

• Thinkaboutthelevelofsecurityandgeneralarea.Aretherelocksondoorsandwindowsanddotheywork?

• Meetallpotentialflatmatesinadvance.

• Gettoknowyourneighbours.Ifyou’reongoodtermswiththemtheymaylookoutforyourpropertywhilstyou’reout.

• Don’tleavekeysinlocksorinplacesanintrudercouldeasilyfindthem.

• Don’tkeepflatkeysandcarkeysonthesamekeyring.

• Makesureyourdoorentrysystemisworkinganddoorsarekeptlocked.

• Don’tgivekeystotradesmen–theycouldmakecopies.

• Gotoyourlocalpoliceofficeformoreadvice.

Makesurepotentiallandlordshavetheappropriatelocalauthoritylicense.Commonlylandlordsofstudentflatsneedalicencefora‘HouseinMultipleOccupation’,whichaimstoensurethattheaccommodationissafe,wellmanagedandofgoodquality.Visitwww.scotland.gov.ukformoreinformation.

Protect Your Valuables You can take steps to secure your valuables at home, on campus and while out:

• Securitymarkvaluableitems.Thismakesthemharderforthievestosellandeasierforpolicetoreturn.

• Placeyourmobilephone,laptop,tablet,cameraandotherpropertyontheNationalMobilePropertyRegisterwww.immobilise.com.

• Don’tleavepossessionsunattended,eveninthelibrary.

• Takeoutcontentsinsuranceforyourproperty.

Protect your mobile phone:• Keepitoutofsightanddon’tattractattentiontoitwhen

notinuse.

• Usethesecuritylock.

• Keeparecordofthe15digitIMEInumberwhichisuniquetothedeviceandrecordonwww.immobilise.com.TofindtheIMEInumber,dial*#06#.

• Iflostorstolen,contactthepoliceandserviceproviderimmediately.

More than 500,000 bikes are stolen in the UK each year, often having been poorly secured or not secured at all. Help protect your bike:

• Photographyourbikeandrecorditsdetailsatwww.bikeregister.com.

• Keepanoteofyourbikesserialnumber(foundoncrankshaft).

• Securitymarkyourbike’sframewithaUVpenorothermethod.

• Insureyourbike,eitheroncontentsinsuranceorseparately.

Morethanhalfofallbikesstolenaretakenfromtheowner’sproperty.Alwayskeepyourbikeoutofsight.

If your bike is stored in a common stairwell:

• Lockitwithtwolockstoasecurebanisterorgroundanchor.

If your bike is stored in a shed or garage:

• Fitagoodqualitypadlocktothedoor,usingnon-returnscrews.

• Ensurewindowsaresecureandcovered.

• Installashed/garagealarm.

• Lockitwithtwolockstoagroundanchor.

When out and about on your bike:

• Lockyourbikeupevery timeyouleaveitusingsecurelocks(i.e.D-locksorthickcablelocks).

• Ideally,usetwodifferenttypesoflock–thismakesithardertosteal.

• Fastenyourbikethroughtheframeandwheeltoafixedobject.

• Lockyourbikeinabusy,well-litplace,inviewofpeopleorCCTVcameras.

• Makethelockandbikehardtomovewhenparked.

• Removebikeaccessories.

• Varyyourroutine-lockupyourbikeindifferentways&places.

Party SafeSocialising is a major part of student life. Keep these simple steps in mind while having fun:

• Planyournightoutincludinghowtogethome.

• Stickwithfriendsandavoidleavingpartiesornightsoutwithstrangers.

• Besensibleabouthowmuchalcoholyoudrink-adrunkpersonismuchmorevulnerableandaneasiertargetforcriminals.

• Ifyouleaveadrinkunattendedthendon’tgobacktoit.

• Ifyoufeelverydrunkorunwell,askatrustedfriendoramemberofthecluborpubmanagementforhelp.

• Lookafterbagsandvaluables.Don’tattractattentiontoaphone,especiallyifyou’reundertheinfluenceofalcohol.

• Keepenoughmoneytopayforyourjourneyhome.

• Stayalertatcashmachines.HideyourPIN,beawareofwho’sbehindyouanddon’tflashyourcash.Avoidusingthemifyou’vehadtoomuchtodrink.

• Alwayscallandbookataxifromalicensedprivatehire/taxifirmandmakesurethevehiclepullingupisdefinitelyyourhirebeforeyougetintoit.

• Wherepossible,avoidtravellingalone.

• Ifwalkinghome,keeptowell-lit,busyareasandnevertakeisolatedshortcuts.

• Walkfacingtrafficsoacarcannotpullupbehindyou.

• Personalattackalarmsaregoodbutdon’tcarryweaponsorpepperspraysasthisisillegalinScotland.

• Havekeysreadywhenyou’reapproachingthecaroryouraccommodation.

• Don’tdriveundertheinfluence.

Remember Enjoy your night out safely• Staywithfriends.

• Alwayschargeyourmobilephone.

• Findalicensedtaxiatadesignatedtaxirank.

• Enjoyyourselfresponsibly-paceyourself.

• Lookafteroneanother.

• Youcanlearnmoreatwww.scotland.police.uk.

Substance AbuseUsingillegaldrugshasseriousrepercussions.Don’triskyourhealthandevenyourlife.Andwhyjeopardiseyourfuturecareeropportunitieswithadrugconviction?Itdoesn’tmatterwhichdrugorhowlittle.

Don’ttakeNewPsychoactiveSubstances(NPS),sometimesmisleadinglyknownas‘legalhighs’.Theycancontainharmfulandtoxicchemicalsandhavebeenlinkedtomanydeaths. Youdon’tknowwhatyou’regettingorwhateffectitwillhaveonyou.Somehavebeenfoundtocontaincontrolleddrugs,meaningyoucouldbechargedwithdrugpossessionevenwhenyouthoughtitwaslegal. 

Findoutmoreatwww.knowthescore.infoorwww.choicesforlifeonline.org.

Don’triskyourlife!

Social NetworkingSocialnetworkingisagreatwaytokeepincontact,especiallyifyou’reawayfromhome.Howeverthinkcarefullyaboutwhatyousayandthetroubleyoucouldfindyourselfinifyoumakeoffensiveorintimidatingcomments.Onlineabuseand‘cyberbullying’maybetreatedasacriminalmatter.Inaddition,criminalsseekoutinformationonsocialnetworkingsitestotargetindividualsandproperties,sotakesomebasicprecautions:

• Useprivacysettings.

• Don’tpostoffensiveorintimidatingcomments.

• Thinkaboutthepicturesyouuploadandwhomaysharethem.

• Don’tshareprivate,personalorconfidentialinformationormaterialonlinewhichyouwouldn’tbehappyforyourfamilytosee.

• Becarefulhowmuchyourevealaboutwhereyouareandwhatyou’redoing.

Identify Theft and Online ScamsIdentitytheftoccurswhenyourpersonalidentificationinformationisusedwithoutyourknowledgeorpermission.Criminalsuseittoobtaincreditcards,productsandservices,loansandmortgagesandcommitothertypesoffraudulentorevencriminalactsinyourname,leavingyouresponsiblefortheconsequences.

Identitythievesdon’tjuststealyourmoney;theystealyournameandreputationfortheirownfinancialgain.Thiscanseriouslyjeopardiseyourfinancialfuture.

Phishingiswhencriminalsusefakee-mailsorweblinkstogetpersonalinformation,suchaspasswords,usernames,orbankaccountdetails.Acompellingreasonisoftengiventopersuadeyoutogotoawebsiteorclickonane-maillink,oftensupposedlyfromawellknowncompany.Thewebsitesoftenappeargenuinebutaredesignedtotrickpeopleintoenteringpersonaldetails.Thecriminalcanthenaccessyouridentity,stealfromyourbankaccountorinfectyourcomputerwithaviruswhichallowsthemtocontrolyoursystem.

Things to look out for:

• Emailusesgenerictermslike‘Dearaccountholder’.

• Emailisthreateningandstatesthaturgentactionisrequired.

• Emailcontainsanunrecognisablelink.

• Spellingerrorscontainedwithintheemail.

• Emailaddressisdifferentfromtrustedcompanywebsite.

• E-mailsfromacompanyyouhavenobusinesswith.

• Nopadlocksignonwebsiteandnohttps://atthebeginningofwebaddress.

Protect yourself:

• Keepbrowsersoftwareupdatedandusespamfilters.

• Avoidriskysites,includingsupposedinvestmentsites.

• NEVERclickonane-maillinkfromanunknownsource.

• Nevergiveoutyourpersonaldetailsorpasswords.

• Don’tleavepersonaldocumentslyingaround.

• Shredpersonalcorrespondencebeforedisposing.

Formoreinformationaboutonlinesafetyandsecuritygotowww.getsafeonline.org.

MoneyMulesareexploitedbycriminalstousetheirbankaccounttotransfermoneyfromonecountrytoanother,usuallyfromwherethecriminallives.Normallythemuleisofferedacashincentive.Recruitmentisoftenthrough:

• Unsolicitede-mailsaskingforassistance.

• Contactviasocialnetworkingsites.

• Falsevacanciesonwebsitesposingaslegitimatebusinesses.

• Classifiedadvertsinthepressandonlinewhichlooklegitimate.

Risks attached:

• You’rebreakingthelawandcouldbechargedwithacriminaloffence.

• Yourbankaccountwillbesuspended.

• Allofthemoneyinvolvedwillbeseizedfromyouraccount.

• Ifconvicteditmaybedifficulttogetcredit,abankaccountorajob.

Avoid becoming a victim:

Offersoflargeamountsofcashforverylittleworkornopriorexperiencecouldindicateafraudulentscheme.

Becautiousofoverseasoffers-theycanbedifficulttoverify.

Alwaysresearchanycompanythatoffersyouajob.

NEVERgiveyourbankdetailstoanyoneunlessyouknowandtrustthemandeventhenbecautious.

Furtheradviceaboutprotectingyourselffromidentitytheftandscamsisavailableinthe‘LittleBookofBigScams’.

Contact Us

PoliceScotlandisheretohelpandwearededicatedtokeepingpeoplesafe.Ifyourequirenon-urgentpoliceassistancecall101,orinanemergencydial999.

Formoreinformationandsafetyadvicevisitwww.scotland.police.uk

Ifyouhaveinformationaboutcrimeorcriminalsthenreportitanonymouslyon0800555111oratwww.crimestoppers-uk.org