How to keep yourself safe

You can only achieve your best at university if you feel safe and secure. We take student safety very seriously at UEA. 
Norwich is a safe, exciting and welcoming city to live in. Our campus is set on the edge of the city in a green area with low crime rates and we have teams of people dedicated to making sure our campus and accommodation are safe places to live and study.  

Accommodation Safety 

We have a Residential Life Team and Student Resident team who are part of Student Services at UEA and who are on site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even through university holiday periods. 

All our halls are equipped with fire alarms and fire doors, and we run regular fire drills. 

Your room will be safe, secure and lockable and the residence you live in will only be accessible through using your campus card or key. 

Campus Safety 

Our security teams patrol our campus. These friendly teams, employed by the University, ensure the safety of the campus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even through university holiday periods. 

These security teams: 

Safe Zone is a mobile app that will help you feel safer on campus in situations such as working late at night or alone early in the morning.  It also gets you quick access to First Aid if you need it and assistance should you feel concerned or frightened. 

The app can also be used as a preventative measure. For instance, you may feel vulnerable for any reason walking back to the car park or leaving a residence. If so, press the app help button, and your whereabouts becomes known so an officer from Security can meet you and see you safely back to your car, a bus stop or any destination on campus. As soon as assistance is given, your location reverts to private.  If you need further support, you need to call or press for help again. 

Personal Safety 

Norwich is a safe and welcoming city to live and study in. With this in mind, there are also things that you can consider to help make sure that you are as safe as possible when out and about.  

Have a plan when you go out: 

Try to leave a pub or club with friends, keep money you need to get home separate so you don’t spend it, and pre-book a licensed taxi or know the locations of official taxi ranks. If you use Uber you can share your location and driver's details with a friend. Make sure your phone is fully charged before going on a night out, in case of an emergency or if you lose the people you're with. 

You can feel even more secure when going to and from campus and around Norwich thanks to the SU run Safer Taxi Scheme. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you feel unsafe or uncomfortable, you can call one of the scheme’s taxi companies and get home safe and sound. 

If you are going to be drinking alcohol, consider things like eating before you drink and drink plenty of water between alcoholic drinks to help you not get drunk. Try and keep track of what and how much you’re drinking.  

Keeping your possessions safe 

You can consider mark your possessions with a UV pen – your student registration number and the initials of your university makes a unique number. UEA runs an annual student safety day in the Student Information Zone and you can come along and find out about how to do this and get the materials you need for this, here.  

Dial *#06# for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number. This is the first thing police will check for when recovering stolen property. Register your mobile’s IMEI and the serial numbers of your electronic equipment on Immobilise. This is a free UK property register, supported by police forces and used by them, insurers and the second-hand trade. You can also register your bike and other valuable items. 

In the event of an item being lost or stolen, you can register this on the Immobilise website. Contact your network provider to block the phone. The same applies to your bank if you lose your bank card. 

Insurance: 

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for students to not have insurance in place for the times when an item is lost or stolen. Insurance means that if something happens, you don’t have to pay huge amounts of money to get your possessions replaced, just the insurance premium. Please consider taking out appropriate insurance when you start at UEA.  

Make sure your house is secure: 

When you move off campus, it is likely you will move into an area with lots of other students in. These areas can attract burglaries as there are often times when the property will be empty for long periods of time, such as holidays.  

To help deter burglaries, work with your landlord to ensure that your property is secure. For instance, make sure all outside doors have working and adequate locks.  

Keep valuables out of sight and in a secure place. Consider secure storage for expensive items if you're leaving these during the holidays. 

Bike Safety: 

Invest in a good quality bike lock and use it. Leave your bike in designated, well-lit public bike areas and lock it to something immovable. Lock it at home too, even if you keep it in a garage. You could also consider taking a photo of your bike and the frame number, just in case you do need to report it as stolen to the police. 

Keep personal details safe 

Don’t leave yourself vulnerable to identity theft or be casual with your personal details.  

Keep a safe record of your personal information. For example, your driving license and passport details. Some banks and credit card companies offer a registration service but it's often chargeable.  

Be suspicious of calls or messages that ask for any personal information, passwords, PIN numbers or account details. Don't give out such information unless you are 100% sure of the validity of the request.  

Destroy papers carrying bank details, as well as your kept receipts, and destroy old cards by cutting through the chip and magnetic strip. Contact your bank straight away if you lose your card. 

When you move house or flat, inform all the organisations you deal with of your new address and arrange for the post office to forward on your mail. This avoids strangers receiving your personal information.  

Install security software on laptop: 

Don’t assume you'll never get hacked. Install security software on your computer where you can. The UEA ITCS helpdesk team can help with any questions you may have about the best way to keep your computer secure.  

Be careful with your money: 

Keep an eye out at a cash machine for signs of interference before using it. Never accept a stranger’s help when using a cash machine. Be aware of people crowding around you and if you can, draw out money in the day. Never let your bank or credit cards out of sight in shops and restaurants to prevent cloning. 

When shopping online, check the website for a padlock or unbroken key icon. Websites with ‘https:’ in the URL are secure, but if you don't see the final 's' when you come to checkout, stop the transaction immediately. The VeriSignTrust seal means that the website company's identity has been verified and that the website has passed a daily malware scan. 

Support at UEA: 

If you do experience any incident or behaviour that leaves you feeling unsafe, you can seek support from the Student Life Team in Student Services. You can do this by making a report at Report and Support and a member of the Student Life team will reach out to you to talk to you about the advice and support we can offer to you but in summary, our Student Life advisers can provide a safe space for you to talk about any difficult circumstances you’re facing. You can talk to them about any concerns you may have in areas such as personal relationships, managing homesickness and loneliness as well as if you experience a crime or behaviours such as bullying or harassment. Our advisers can signpost, refer, advise or simply discuss your concerns. 

If you feel at risk of immediate harm or find yourself in an emergency situation, please call 999. You can find out about other support available through Student Services here and further information about crisis support here.