New university students in North East and Teesside urged to stay safe
Crimestoppers is launching a campaign
New university students across the North East and Teesside are being urged to stay safe.
Crimestoppers is asking people to anonymously report any information that affects them.
Its campaign is to help students to not be victims and to empower them to speak out. It's also wanting to raise awareness of key issues including:
- Financial exploitation
- Drink and vape spiking
- The dangers of ketamine
- Burglary, robbery, and theft
Crimestoppers say recent UK data reveals three in five students have been approached to become money mules, with fraud cases among under 21s up 78%. Drink spiking affects 1.2 million adults annually, while ketamine use among young people has soared 231% since 2013. Acquisitive crime – especially theft of phone and laptops – is a daily risk for students, made worse by the cost-of-living crisis.
Fleur Brown, North East regional Manager at Crimestoppers, said: "A lot of people will be in new environments, you've got new friends, and sometimes you want to make sure that you're locking your windows, that you're not looking at the adverts that are giving you financial gain when obviously they're not wanting to do that, they're wanting you to use money in criminal ways.
"We want to make sure that everybody, young people and students, enjoy themselves but it's just making sure that they're conscious of being careful, being safe, and to watch out for things and to just be aware of things that could possibly happen but hopefully it won't.
"What we're here for is for people that don't want to speak to the police for whatever reason can come to us, they can either come online and report online what they know, go to our Crimestoppers website, or they can call us free. We don't want to know who you know, it sounds very rude, but we don't. We just want to know that crime information that you've got.
"If you know who the perpetrators are of a crime or have suspicions, if you know somebody that's spiking drinks, if you know somebody that's taken someone's laptop, if you know of somebody who's trying to financially exploit students or anyone else, or any other crime out there, do come to us and give us that information."
Mick Duthie, Crimestoppers Director of Operations, said: “Student life should be safe, not stressful. We want students to spot the signs, share what they know, and protect themselves and their friends. Every piece of information could stop harm before it starts – and it’s anonymous. By coming together, we can keep student communities secure.”
How to give information and remain anonymous
In an emergency, and if you are a victim of crime, always call the police on 999 or 101.
Crimestoppers is a charity and completely independent of the police.
You can call their dedicated UK Contact Centre, staffed by specially-trained Call Agents, any time of the day or night – 365 days a year.
Call free on 0800 555 111, or fill in their quick and easy anonymous online form on their website.
If you are a victim of crime, the charity Victim Support can help. Call 08 08 16 89 111 or visit their website.
For more information on how to stay safe, visit the Crimestoppers website.