The Lancashire Constabulary increased their online and physical presence for this year’s Freshers’ Week, including a social media campaign which the police hope to sustain throughout the coming year.
Social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook were used by the Constabulary to promote safety during Freshers’ Week and to get other messages across regarding the Week.
The social media campaign was accompanied by a separate campaign entitled “Inspector Morph”, in which one of the officers dressed in a blue morphsuit gave out leaflets during the “Big Night Out” with the social media labels on. PC Ben Rooke told SCAN that the campaign was meant to be “a bit of fun” while also promoting the idea of staying safe on nights out.
PC Rooke said that the campaign had proved a success and that, on the whole, this year’s Freshers’ Week had proved a safe one. “It was a really good, safe week,” PC Rooke said, adding that the police successfully promoted their message of “stick together to stay safe.” “Stuff happens when people are on their own,” PC Rooke told SCAN.
Throughout the next year, the police hope to build on the success of this year’s Freshers’ Week by continuing to educate students about safety on nights out. The police are particularly concerned about Halloween, when many students go out and drink, and want to make sure that students drink responsibly on nights such as these.
While the online campaign has increased the presence of the police on campus, PC Rooke stressed that the best way to contact the police was still via direct channels. “It is best to report incidences using the 101 phone number or to [campus] security.”
“The sooner we get to know about something, the sooner we get to deal with it.”
