Safer Leicester Partnership and Leicestershire Constabulary is urging students to follow some simple advice to keep themselves safe, many who will be away from home for the first time, to ‘think crime prevention’.
We want to ensure students enjoy themselves responsibly and are warning that drinking to excess may not only put their health at risk but also make them vulnerable to violence or thieves.
We are asking students to not only be aware of the amount of alcohol they are consuming but also to never leave drinks unattended and to always keep enough money over for a taxi home.
Students moving to new surroundings are also being advised to familiarise themselves with their new homes during daylight, find telephone numbers of reputable taxi companies, do not get separated from friends when out socialising and be mindful of the risks of taking a shortcut home.
The vast majority of people have a fun safe night out without any problems. To help make sure you do:
- Eat a meal before a night out to avoid getting drunk too quickly
- Pace your drinks and drink water between alcoholic drinks - bars and pubs now have to provide free tap water to anyone who asks for it
- Drink lower strength lagers, which can reduce alcohol consumption by 20 per cent over a night out
- If you feel too drunk, switch to soft drinks for a while
- Don't leave drinks unattended or accept drinks from strangers, as they could get spiked or be tampered with.
- Walk away from trouble; it's not worth it. Be polite. If you accidentally spill someone's drink or bang in to them then apologise or if a friend starts becoming aggressive, calm them down and encourage them to sober up with a few soft drinks
- Stay with your friends - go into town together and leave together. Try not to wander off from your friends without letting anyone know where you are going and arrange a meeting point in case you become separated.
- Make sure you and your friends have each others mobile numbers so that you can keep in contact and all get home safely
- Plan how you are going to get home before a night out
- Avoid walking home alone. If you have no other choice,face ongoing traffic where you can be seen as this will avoid the surprise of a vehicle approaching from behind. Avoid shortcuts, alleyways and deserted areas like car parks. If you feel as though you may be in danger, cross over the road a few times, knock on a door or walk to the nearest shop or garage.
Remember: you can register your valuables such as laptops, mobile phones and bikes for free at http://www.immobilise.com/. It's a quick, easy and free way of logging the details of your property on a national database that police can access and compare against items that have been found or recovered from suspected criminals.
For further Student Safety visit Leicestershire Constabularyor click here
