Our experience of creating the #StaySafe project in collaboration with Crimestoppers

    
Amy Gibbons                                                           Georgia Brookes

Beginnings…

The #StaySafe project at the University of Lincoln, in collaboration with Crimestoppers, began in 2017/18 when a University-wide research project around crime prevention and awareness was launched, with the aim of researching students’ knowledge of crime prevention strategies, as well as their perceptions of crime.
 
The results of the questionnaire students responded to made it clear that many of them were unaware of what resources were available to them; they were, as well, not clear as who to contact when instances of crime occurred.
 

This year…

We have greatly built upon that pilot project, conducting a much larger-scale survey and more in-depth data analysis, and aiming to discover Lincoln students’ current awareness and perceptions of crime prevention. We have used the findings in implementing the #StaySafe strategy across the campus, in order to help prevent victimisation.
 
We have been encouraged to produce some marketing material, in collaboration with Student Services, to provide to new students at Freshers’ Week - along with a PowerPoint presentation with a voiceover by students, to be emailed out to personal tutors to either show in the first week of the academic year or to email out to students.
 

Later this year…

We are also working on a forthcoming blog to continue to raise awareness of how to report a crime, including how to report anonymously with Crimestoppers.
 
We’re currently looking for funding so we can provide some students with #StaySafe branded small personal alarms, torches and Spikeys (a stopper you can put on your drink to prevent it being tampered with) during Welcome Week this September, as well as working with Student Support to set up a Residential Warden Scheme.
 
This #StaySafe project in collaboration with Crimestoppers is also about producing a model so Crimestoppers can hopefully in the future roll this out across other universities within the East Midlands, and possibly further across the UK as a whole.
 

What has the project meant to us?

Amy: My experience of being a part of this project has been a huge learning curve for me. Working on a project as a group with a very small budget has enabled me to learn many more valuable skills that my degree alone would not have provided.
 
I worked with the project very closely during this year, putting together information specifically on burglary (one of the three main crime types we focused on, the others being night time economy and stalking and harassment), the creation of the #StaySafe campaign and logo, survey distribution and data analysis using SPSS statistics software, as well as creating an academic poster which was presented by myself, Georgia and Lou Keller at the annual conference for the British Society of Criminology, which was held at the University of Lincoln this year and which we all also volunteered at.
 
I’m looking forward to the opportunity of being able to continue being a part of the #StaySafe campaign, as it will become a part of a new Criminology society at the University, in order to be closer to the Students Union and generally more visible across campus.
 
It has been a lot of voluntary hard work on top of my studies - but to know this project will continue on, with new students wanting to get involved, and knowing we will hopefully have implemented new things into Welcome Week for first year students in order to help them have the most positive university experience they can, with plenty of support and safety available to them, has just made it all the more fulfilling.
 
Georgia: The project has given me a lot of confidence - the responsibility of being involved allowed me to see what I was truly capable of, which helped me to develop my confidence when tackling the rest of my university work.
 
Working on this project has furthered my ability when it comes to creating questionnaires, and balancing my university work alongside a project and a part-time job. This will continue to be useful as I enter my Master’s year this September.
 
I’ve also been able to develop my SPSS skills, which will be useful while studying for my Master’s degree. Also, all of the skills I have gained from the project can be transferred to a career, which will be helpful for the future.
 
The opportunity of presenting a poster that we created at the British Society of Criminology conference was one I feel incredibly grateful to have been given, and one that would not have arisen if I had not taken part in this project.
 
It was a great experience to be a part of, and I would recommend anyone to take part in a project like this in order to really stand out when it comes to applying for jobs.