Oxford Brookes University’s own pair of Pcsos will hit the campus to crack down on rowdy students from September.
The university has forked out about £124,000 to pay for the police community support officers, Rachel Cooper and David Hession, to patrol the grounds and make students feel safer over the next two years.
Based out of Cowley police station and the Gipsy Lane campus, they will also provide crime prevention advice, gather intelligence, and be seen out and about as much as they can.
Miss Cooper, 38, has been a Pcso in Barton for five years and is looking forward to her student-focused role, which coincides with the arrival of new students.
She said: “It’s like a town within a town. It’s a smaller area, but there will be different problems to deal with, different crimes and different victims. We have to cater for the foreign students as well.
“It is one of the first pilot schemes to be rolled out nationally and it will be good to see how we will fit in with the university.”
Mr Hession, 26, who used to patrol the Marston and Northway area, said: “We will basically be giving high visibility patrols in and around Brookes and handing out crime prevention information.
“We spend about 80 per cent of our time in our areas.”
He added: “It’s going to be a challenge.”
Oxford Brookes University will be review how well the Pcsos have worked in two years time.
The officers will still report to Pc Chris Miles, of the Headington Neighbourhood team based at Cowley police station every morning, before heading up to the Gipsy Lane and Headington Hill campuses.
They could be recalled to help in major incidents and they will remain directly answerable to the force.
Dr Anne Gwinnett, director of corporate affairs at Oxford Brookes and chairman of the Brookes meeting with local residents’ associations, said: “This is an investment in the community.”
She added: “The Pcsos will be a resource both for members of the public and Brookes students, as they patrol the university’s Headington campuses and streets in the area, particularly focusing on dealing with student-related anti-social behaviour.
“The university will continue to make students aware of their required conduct and make known that the Pcsos are there to enforce them.”
Pc Miles added: “The Pcsos will be heavily involved in Freshers’ Week, helping to provide crime reduction advice to students living in halls of residence and elsewhere, and getting to know the student community.”
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