Going home for Christmas?

During the year we have been telling you to Lock it. Hide it. Keep it.

This becomes even more important towards the end of term when empty student property becomes a target for burglary. The message from the Police is:

Take any valuables home with you

Ensure all doors and windows are locked when you leave

Clear gardens of items such as bricks/ladders that could be used to force entry

Ask your landlord/letting agent or trusted neighbour to keep an eye on your house during the holidays and ask them to push through any mail left hanging from letter boxes and bring in your bins

So the house appears occupied set up light timers to come on whilst you are away and close curtains in ground floor bedrooms

Remove obvious signs from windows that it’s a student house e.g. posters

Make sure the boiler comes on for a few hours each day to prevent pipes from freezing

When you return don’t make it obvious that Santa has been generous by leaving packaging of expensive presents on display or in bins as burglars know the packaging relates to items worth stealing

Go to www.immobilise.com a free property protection register for any new electrical items, mobiles, bikes, laptops etc

http://www.cardiffdigs.co.uk/lockithideitkeepit.htm for more safety advice

Student Police Initiative

To create a safer and stronger community in Cardiff, South Wales Police introduced the Student Police initiative aimed at creating partnerships with the police, students and wider community.

Volunteer students and the Student Police initiative are carrying out crime prevention exercises. Yesterday and today volunteer students, South Wales police and cardiffdigs will be out on patrol door knocking around Cathays to welcome students to the area with safety, security and community advice.


The message is welcome to the area, Cardiff is a safe city but around this time of year we see a spike in burglaries so we are asking residents to remain vigilant and to Lock it. Hide it. Keep it. Residents were warned about the risks of opportunist burglaries, given safety advice from the volunteers and a pack containing information about their community and social responsibilities to assist with the move into the area and to encourage good community relations.


This initiative is timed to correspond with the start of term to prevent and reduce all aspects of criminal activity and anti social behaviour. The emphasis was placed on proactive education; prevention and awareness and encouraged residents to introduce themselves to their neighbours. The student police initiative, continually increasing in size and enthusiasm, has already come up with some innovative ideas for the following months. If you haven’t received your free wall planner and freebies or what to get involved then there is still time just go to: http://cardiffdigs.co.uk/lockithideitkeepit.htm