Police and the University of Leicester joined forces, to help protect almost 200 students from cycle theft. They swapped the students‚Äô wire-based cycle locks with much more secure ‚ÄòD locks‚Äô. These were provided free of charge for the first 180 students….
A similar initiative has been run and has helped reduce cycle thefts by about 25 per cent in the past two years.<br><br>PC Harvey Watson, the university’s beat officer, said: “Cycle crime is easily the most common crime on the campus, and we are determined to reduce the numbers further this year.<br><br>“Students arrive with cycles that are often very expensive, but they may only have cheap locks. ‘D locks’ are much more robust and harder for a thief to break.”<br><br>PC Watson said he would urge cyclists who missed out on the swap to invest in upgrading their locks. He also recommended that cycle serial numbers and model details are recorded on the free property marking website www.immobilise.com , which increases the chances police can return a recovered cycle to its owner.<br><br>Today’s lock swap initiative was paid for by the University of Leicester. Graham Middleton, its head of security, said: “Nothing can stand up to bolt croppers like a ‘D lock’.<br><br>“We have done this for a number of years as a way of supporting our students. Working in this way with the police helps to reduce crime and also provides a safer environment on our campus.”<br><br>He added that any student who felt their wire-based lock was robust enough would be invited to see what happened when attacked with bolt-croppers.<br><br>The lock swap was also being recorded for Watch Campus Cops, PC Watson’s series of YouTube videos featuring safety and crime prevention tips for students. Members of top pop band ‘The Saturdays’ and Britain’s Got Talent dance crew ‘Diversity’ have all been a part of PC Harvey Watson’s ‘Campus Cops’ video productions in previous years, all aimed at reducing crime across the University Campus beat which Harvey serves.
PC Harvey Watson has been the Leicester University campus beat bobby over five years. Now he is passing on the benefit of his experience to new students in a series YouTube videos with tips on: personal safety, marking and registering your property, drinking and personal security, home and hall security and looking out for your neighbours. You can see at: www.youtube.com/watchcampuscops
