These are all the crimes reported to Northampton's university police team in first year

The complete list of recorded crimes involving University of Northampton students or staff both on and off campus in the past year has been revealed.
By Jack Duggan
Published 18th Sep 2019, 14:55 BST
The University of Northampton police team at Waterside campusThe University of Northampton police team at Waterside campus
The University of Northampton police team at Waterside campus

More than 120 crimes were reported, including sexual offences, thefts and assaults, and 39 arrests were made in the first year of the university's partnership with Northamptonshire Police.

A dedicated police team of one sergeant and five officers is based at the Waterside campus, funded by the university, while the way crimes are dealt with was also changed as part of the scheme.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sergeant Lorna Clarke, who leads the team, said: “Since my team started we investigate and record any crime against a student to ensure their safety – regardless of where in Northampton it took place.

“By being part of the university community, we can apply proactive, intelligence-led police methods to detect crimes that would have otherwise gone uncovered.

"In addition to crime investigation, we have been using other police powers such as stop-and-search and warranted searches to disrupt anyone attempting to commit crimes at the university or against students."

University director of campus services Becky Bradshaw believes the partnership has been successful in keeping their community safe.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The police team acts as a strong deterrent to anyone thinking of targeting our students," she said.

"Their level of involvement in many other aspects at the university – such as completing safety talks, talking to applicants and their families on open days and meeting with or leading staff training sessions – have made them a valuable part of the University of Northampton.

“We have had a huge amount of interest from other police forces and universities around the country who are looking at this new model and seeing if this, or something similar, could also work for them.”

Crimes reported since the university police team launched in September, 2018, include:

Burglary – 9

Bike Theft – 5

Criminal Damage – 8

Fraud – 6

Assaults (all types) – 25

Drug possession – 23

Possession with intent to supply – 4

Public order offences (all types) – 4

Sexual Offences – 6

Theft – 10

Other – 24.