And here’s our final post from Sian Hodkin, our SHU student blogger who has been doing a fantastic job as our deputy editor for the week…

As students we’re constantly told to stay vigilant and stay safe on nights out, but we also have to remember that our halls and houses are homes from home and keeping your house protected is equally as important.

I live at home so I technically don’t have too much responsibility over items in my house; but you ask anybody who has tried to leave my house with me and you’ll know it takes me around fifteen minutes to do a “big check”. I’m working on it because it does waste a lot of my time and it is just pointless worrying. My boyfriend calls me “the Queen of Faff” but in my eyes all of these checks are important to keep my family’s house safe.

Lucky for you I have a friend who works with the Police, Police Community Support Officer, Daniel Pressman, who has seen countless burglaries over the Easter holidays and together we came up with a few tips on keeping protected.

• It sounds obvious but keep your doors locked, even when you’re in the house. Make sure your windows are closed when you’re out. “We have a lot of cases where students don’t lock the doors because they think someone else is still home” I know 9am lectures are a pain and mornings are a blur but keeping up with your housemate’s routine is key.

• Don’t leave valuables in sight of windows and doors. “A lot of burglars are opportunists that just see things and then go after them” Have a ‘safe area’ in your room where you keep everything when you’re out, a cupboard, under your desk or just in your wardrobe.”

• On that point, don’t leave your electrics on constantly; laptops, straighteners, curlers or chargers are at risk of causing fires if you leave them on. It isn’t just about keeping your home safe from burglary, keeping your home fire-safe is also key. By leaving appliances on you’re also wasting a lot of electricity; which speaks for itself really!

• Mark your stuff – “You can get UV marker pens and it’s good to label up your expensive things with your house number and postcode in case it does get stolen so it means that if we find it we can return it back to you.”

• If you are staying in one of the shared student halls, don’t let anyone in that buzzes that you don’t know. “We have had a few cases where people have done this and then whoever they have let in then has a free run of the halls.” It is terrifying to think you’re in a protected area with security but thieves don’t run around in black and white with SWAG bags, you can’t differentiate them from anybody else, so stay alert and stay smart.

• If you’re going home for a long period of time such as Christmas, take home everything valuable and don’t leave any money in the house.

• I have personally been to a few student houses where they have to walk down an alley to get to their door. It’s worth chatting to your landlord and asking whether you can install a security light. On that note, asking your landlord to install a security alarm in your house is worth it, even if you and your housemates chip in a few quid each.

These are just simple things that can make a big difference for your home; you’re not just protecting your property, you are protecting your housemates, which is probably the most important thing.

Thank you to Police Community Support Officer Daniel Pressman for his help with this post.

Editor’s note – views expressed are Sian’s own. If you have any concerns or worries about staying safe in your accommodation, you can find further information on the South Yorkshire Police website here. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised and would like to talk to somebody about it, you can contact Student Wellbeing or Student Advice and Information.

And a huge thanks to Sian for her great articles this week. It’s been brilliant having a student perspective and voice on our blog, and we know there’s been a lot of interest in what Sian has published. Thanks again Sian!