Thursday, 24 October 2019
The University of Nottingham’s Vice-Chancellor has joined Nottingham City Council Community Protection Officers on a special night patrol of city streets as part of an initiative aimed at protecting student welfare and encouraging positive community relations.
Professor Shearer West was also accompanied by Students’ Union Community Officer Jacob Collier on Operation Corridor, which saw the CPO team patrolling Derby Road and nearby streets on Wednesday evening this week (23 October).
It allowed them to see first-hand some of the issues dealt with by the team during their regular patrols and to speak directly to students and residents living in the area.
Our Community Protection Officers do a fantastic job of patrolling the streets for the benefit of both our students and the local communities in which they live.
She added: “The vast majority of our students make a positive contribution to our city, economically, culturally and through a range of volunteering activities.
“Of course, the issue of integrating a changing student population within a local community— which includes both older residents and working families—is not without its challenges.
“However, by supporting these patrols, we are giving out a clear and visible message that we expect all of our students to be considerate and respectful of their neighbours and that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated.”
During the night time patrol, Community Protection Officers offered words of advice to a house hosting a small birthday party. The guidance included keeping the music and bass turned down, closing doors and windows and leaving for taxis in an orderly and quiet fashion. Students were reminded of the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) that operates in the area and this includes prohibited drinking of alcohol in the street and containers of alcohol were confiscated. Isolated waste issues were recorded for follow-up action by the CPO team and University for the following day.
The University of Nottingham commits up to £30,000 per academic year to support the Community Protection team to deliver Operation Corridor, which sees officers patrolling the Derby Road area, which acts as the main arterial route into the city centre for many of the university’s students.
The patrol acts as a dedicated response to anti-social behaviour but also allows officers to identify vulnerable students in need of assistance to tackle any potential student welfare concerns. The funding enables CPOs to work later, longer and more frequently on selected nights of the week during term time.
It is part of a wider package of measures that the University undertakes in partnership with the CPOs and Nottingham Trent University to promote harmony in the community and encourage students to be good neighbours.
At the start of the academic year, the CPO team hand-delivered letters to 4,500 households in the Lenton and Arboretum areas of the city warning that instances of noise nuisance for residents will be treated extremely seriously. Forty-two students were subsequently warned about their behaviour and fines issued to a further six.
Tough measures in place
Any anti-social behaviour is taken extremely seriously by the university which has measures in place to tackle students causing a nuisance in the community through its student disciplinary code.
In addition, the University of Nottingham has a number of community relations initiatives aimed at students including:
- an email at the start of term with information on building positive relationships with neighbours, issues including bin collection and how to get involved in volunteering activities in their local community
- the Hello Neighbour campaign which will see posters being put up around campus and supplied to local residents to display in their windows
- helpful information through its Living in the Community webpage, which has advice on issues such as respecting the community and recycling and waste management.
- working with the Students’ Union to provide a handy guide to living in the community leaflet delivered to students living in the Lenton area
- delivery of antisocial behaviour workshops, in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University and developed through victim experience to educate students on the impact of antisocial behaviour on the wider community.
Jacob Collier, Students' Union Community Officer, said: "It has been fantastic to see the great work our Community Protection Officers do to keep students safe in the communities where they live. I want to thank them for their continued dedication to keeping our communities safe, and we look forward to continuing our partnership to make Nottingham a great place to be.”
Story credits
More information is available from Jamie Dickinson, Manager for Off-Campus Student Affairs, University of Nottingham, on +44 (0)115748 7412, jamie.dickinson@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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