Student calendars help keep freshers safe

Representatives from different partner agencies in the Community Safety Partnership have been working together to produce an eye-catching and amusing calendar for all freshers at the University of Hertfordshire.

Cleverly designed so that each month corresponds to crime that most often occurs at that time, each page carries a jokey cartoon and reminders about how to stay safe, avoid becoming a victim of crime and how to avoid inadvertently behaving anti-socially. The calendar also has a list of useful contacts.

Originally the idea of John Baldwin (Community Liaison Officer at the University of Hertfordshire), production of the calendar has been led by Nicola Hall from the Hertfordshire Constabulary, with input from University Police Constable Ilana Cohen, , and the rest of the university’s police team. Jay Patel, Community Safety Partnership Co-ordinator from Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, assisted Nicola and also co-ordinated the printing.

While the cost of printing copies for all students was met by the Community Safety Partnership, all the design work was provided for free by up-and-coming University of Hertfordshire design student Dan Gurney. Dan has used many of his characters from “Uni-form”, a viral soap opera that is popular on the university’s website.

Councillor Richard Smith, Chair of the Welwyn Hatfield Community Safety Partnership, said: “When students start university, for many it is the first time they have lived away from home for any length of time. These calendars have some great tips for students about how to keep themselves, their properties and their possessions safe, as well as reminders about behaving with consideration for other people living in the area. I’d like to thank all the individuals involved from Hertfordshire Constabulary, the University and the borough council for all their work, and also give particular thanks to the talented designer, Dan Gurney, for providing top-class artwork free of charge. I hope the freshers will both enjoy and learn something from the calendars.”

The calendars are being distributed during the university’s freshers’ week.

Dan Gurney is available for freelance design work and can be contacted on dan@uni-form.co.uk

More background information about the CSP can be found on their web page.