Personal safety

Knowing how to keep yourself safe, avoid unpleasant situations, and deal with those that might occur is crucial.

Here are our top tips for avoiding common risks and keeping yourself safe.

1. Don’t walk home alone at night

   If you need to get home after dark, walk with friends or take a taxi from a trusted provider. If you have no money to pay for a cab, use our Safe Taxi Scheme. Our agreement with Nottingham Cars means you can get a taxi home whenever you need to and pay for it the following day. That means there’s never an excuse to walk home alone.Learn more about the scheme here.
    

2. Be mindful of who you’re letting into your halls/building

   Though rare, someone can hang around buildings such as your halls or apartment block, waiting for an opportunity to get inside.

   They might pretend to be a fellow student who has forgotten their card/keys and ask you to hold the door open for them when you swipe yourself in.

   If you’re unsure whether they’re genuinely a resident, you shouldn’t let them in, especially if you’ve never seen them before. It’s a difficult situation but trust your instinct. If they are a genuine resident, they can ask security to let them in.

   Never put yourself at risk in this type of situation. If you’re not comfortable refusing someone entry, get out of the situation and contact security.
    

3. Don’t leave your phone lying on tables

   Don’t leave your phone on show when you’re in bars and cafes. There’s a trick unscrupulous people use to take advantage of this habit. They will distract you with something, such as a leaflet or map, which they use to hide your phone from your view so they can steal it. You can easily avoid being a victim of this trick by keeping your phone in your bag or pocket when you’re not using it.
    

4. Have a strong phone password

   Think of all the personal data you have on your phone. Now imagine what someone could do if they got hold of it—they could access your email, social media accounts, bank apps, and more.
   Hopefully you never lose your phone. But if you do, your best line of defence is a secure password or PIN (i.e. not Password or 000000). So choose a memorable, complex password or PIN that couldn’t be worked out by a stranger. Learn more digital security tips here.
    

5. Anonymise your house keys

   Keeping anything on your keys that identifies you or your address is a definite no-no. If your keys were to be lost or stolen, you don’t want to give someone with bad intentions a map straight to your door.
    

6. Lock doors and windows when you leave the house

   Sounds obvious, but it’s easy to forget or not bother—especially when you’re in a rush. Before you leave your home, check your doors and windows are locked. Most home thefts are done by opportunists who find an unlocked entry point, so the simple act of habitually locking up before you go out significantly reduces your chances of anything bad happening.
    

To learn more about online safety, how to boogie safe, and our Safe Taxi Scheme, use the links at the top of this page.