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The independent voice of Newcastle
160k of student fees spent policing Jesmond More than 2 million pounds has been given to police forces by 27 universities
Sidney Pinsent News Editor
Newcastle University is paying thousands of pounds employing extra police in residential areas and on campus. This is part of a move echoed by many other universities in the North East, who are concerned that their students make easy targets for criminals in the local area.
242
Students have recieved warnings due to witnessed incidents between September and December
A Newcastle University spokesperson said “Between the periods 1st Feb 2016 – 31st January 2019, we have paid Northumbria Police £166,146. This was to pay for an officer on campus and additional policing in residential areas populated by students.” More than 2 million pounds has been given to 17 police forces by 27 universities, intent on fortifying
“The biggest problem facing students where they live is frequent burglaries and I am doubtful of what’s actually being done to tackle this issue.”
Raff Marioni, NUSU President
these preventative measures. Newcastle University and Northumbria University are paying for Operation Oak which, a Newcastle University spokesperson said, is a “joint initiative which pays for extra police patrols on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights during term time as well as four week periods at the start and end of the academic year.” The operation aims to fund more “bobbies on the beat” but schemes like this haven’t been without criticism. Labour shadow minister for policing, Louise Haigh, stated: “This is yet another example of the police, who have been shrunk to their lowest ever level, being unable to protect the public in the most basic sense.” Indeed, officer numbers have fallen by 20,000 since 2010 and Police budgets have decreased by 19% over the same period of time”. Haigh continued by saying community funded policing “creates a two-tier system leaving those areas that can afford to pay with
the public services we all should benefit from and our more deprived areas going without.” Others have also asked why student tuition fees are paying for a service that is usually funded by general taxation. Dominic Sutcliffe a third year Politics Student commented: “Everyone in Jesmond is worried about break-ins and it can become a bit of strip on the weekend. You don’t see the police cars though, or I least I don’t.” Raff Marioni, President of Newcastle University Students’ Union told the Courier: “Operation oak funds a greater police presence in highly populated student areas, which probably does improve student safety, particularly after nights out. That said, I think the biggest problem facing students where they live is frequent burglaries and I am doubtful of what’s actually being done to tackle this issue.”
“You don’t see the police cars though, or I least I don’t” Dominic Sutcliffe, Third Year Politics Student
However, The Neighbourhood inspector at Northumbria police says “Operation Oak has been a huge success and that would not have been possible without the support of the universities. “This type of funding allows us to deploy targeted patrols in student communities to ensure they are safe and keeping out of trouble.” He added “It also gives us an opportunity to engage with students, make sure they are safe and offer them advice to ensure they don’t fall victims to crime.” The number of students that have received warnings due to witnessed incidents between the 21st of September 2018 and the 16th of December 2018 was 242 in total. Some have expressed frustration that the operation may be targeting students rather than working to protect them. Jesmond Residents Association (JRA) spokesperson, who has been a resident of Jesmond for 3 years, says “Things are pretty static, they aren’t getting better or worse but without Operation Oak things could have got worse”. They said Newcastle University was listening and working well with the JRA, especially after the death of Edward Farmer at an initiation ceremony in December 2016. However, they were still looking for more police during freshers’ week, which they said “seemed to last 5 weeks this year”, and more police involvement in tackling 24 hours parties, which happen outside the agreed working hours of Operation Oak. A Newcastle University Spokesperson also claimed Operation Oak has been successful saying “Collaborating with the Students’ Union, Northumbria Police, Newcastle City Council, residents and other stakeholders has proven very effective alongside our community schemes that reward positive student behaviour.
Osborne road in Jesmond the surrounding area heavily populated by students Image: NUSU
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