Dear Head Teacher,
As the school summer holidays approach it’s time to think ahead and plan for the safety and security of our schools in Hertfordshire during the extended holiday period.
It can be a vulnerable time for schools with less activity taking place and fewer staff on site during the day. Last year, during the summer holiday period 14 schools in the county were broken into and had property stolen.
Hertfordshire Constabulary are taking measures to protect schools during the summer holiday, which include:
· Local Safer Neighbourhood Teams preparing patrol plans to ensure schools are regularly patrolled by uniformed officers to deter offenders and catch criminals
· Dedicated Crime Prevention Officers will be visiting the schools that were burgled during last summer holiday period to give crime prevention advice.
· Local Officers will visit all schools in the run up to the holidays to give support and ensure all reasonable steps have been taken to prevent the school becoming a victim of crime.
· Enlisting the support of all existing Neighbourhood Watch Schemes to ‘keep an eye’ on their local schools and report any suspicious activity to the Police
There are also some simple measures your schools can also take to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of crime during the summer holiday period, these include:
Completing the ‘Schools Crime Prevention Self Assessment’
Included with this letter is the Schools Crime Prevention Self-Assessment written by Hertfordshire Constabulary. Completing this assessment will help you identify any gaps you may have in your school security and help you focus your efforts to address the issues raised. The assessment can also be accessed on the Hertfordshire Constabulary Website www.herts.police.uk
Locking away all expensive equipment such as laptop computers
All too often laptop computers are left on view in an unsecured charging station making it simple for a thief to make off with several valuable computers very quickly and easily.
Making use of Immobilise
Improve the chances of having any stolen property returned to your school by registering your valuable items on the Immobilise database. More details of how to do this can be found on the Hertfordshire Constabulary Website or www.immobilise.com.
Making your property unattractive to thieves
Overtly marking your property makes your valuable items less attractive to thieves as it increases the chances of them being caught in possession of stolen items and makes it more difficult for them to sell the items on. Writing the school name and postcode in highly visible marker pen or even paint can be an effective crime reduction method. This may not be suitable for leased equipment.
If it is not appropriate to overtly mark your equipment consider writing the school’s name and postcode on your property using an ultra violet pen. This is another good way to increase the chances of having your stolen property returned. If you do this, advertise the fact that your property is marked in this way to ensure the criminal is aware to further deter them.
Involve the community and increase the number of ‘guardians’ for your school
Encourage those that live nearby to be guardians for your school and report any suspicious behaviour to the police.
I hope that our combined efforts can make the schools in Hertfordshire safe over the summer period enabling everyone to have an enjoyable and crime free break,
Yours faithfully
Paul Lawrence
Inspector
Community Safety & Crime Reduction Department
Police HQ, WGC
01707 638435