Published by Student Direct: Mancunion

Photo: Girish Gupta

FEATURING POSTERS designed by students, Greater Manchester Police’s new safety campaign aims to lower burglary and robbery rates across Manchester’s student population.



The annual campaign has a new twist this year with Manchester Metropolitan Design students being enlisted to devise the marketing campaign.



“We hope that because it has been designed by students, it will make other students stop, think and ultimately take steps to protect themselves and what they own,” said: Superintendent Simon Barraclough from GMP’s South Manchester Division.



The campaign is backed up by police knocking on students’ doors with advice leaflets, high-visibility patrols in crime hotspots as well as safety talks at all halls of residence.



However, University of Manchester Students’ Union Women’s Officer Hazel Kent was disappointed with the “sexual innuendo” implied by the posters.



“I think it’s great that students have designed the campaign and that the police are taking an interest in student welfare,” said Kent. “However, I dislike the sexual innuendo implicit in the campaign message, as it goes too far towards laying the blame on victims of serious crime instead of the perpetrator. However, it is an improvement on last year’s campaign bearing the message ‘keep your assets out of sight’, with a woman’s thong on show.”



Students are also encouraged to register their valuables on www.immobilise.com