STUDENTS have been given tips on how to avoid becoming victims of crime.

Police from the Bolton Central Neighbourhood Policing Team have been at Bolton University all week, marking property and registering students’ laptops and phones on the Immobilise database.

They have also been giving advice and crime-prevention tools displaying GMP’s new student safety campaign logo.

Last year, there were 12 burglaries at student residences in Bolton between September and December, nine of which could have been avoided as they were due to people leaving doors and windows open or unlocked.

But following a targeted operation by police, which included personal visits to every student flat and crime-prevention messages being sent to student phones, there was only one other recorded burglary for the rest of the academic year.

Inspector Phil Spurgeon said: “Every year, we run safety campaigns aimed at providing students with advice to prevent them becoming a victim of crime.

“However, for new students in particular, crime prevention is always going to be the last thing on their minds when they are leaving home for the first time and they are likely to think it will never happen to them.”

New students arriving at the Orlando and Hollins Halls of Residences last weekend found posters highlighting the new slogans in all their rooms.

Local neighbourhood officers were on hand to meet and greet the new students and their parents, to remind them of how they can keep themselves and their valuables safe.

Safety messages are also being sent each week to student’s phones in the area.

Students can follow simple steps to help stop thieves, including keeping valuables out of sight, always being aware of what is going on around them, keeping to well-lit areas and shutting and locking all windows and doors, even when they are at home.

Students are also being encouraged to register their valuables on with the immobilise.com website.

pkeaveny@theboltonnews.co.uk