Throughout October 2021, the University of Kent, alongside the Canterbury Safety Partnership, visited student homes in the local area to talk about being a good neighbour and staying safe while living and studying in Canterbury.  

The Canterbury Safety Partnership visited areas of Canterbury with a high density of local student residents. We were able to engage with hundreds of student properties throughout the city, providing a warm welcome and information about staying safe in Canterbury.

This was a positive start to the new academic year, being able to discuss the importance of being an active member of our local community. The partnership encouraged students to join their local residents’ associations, report crimes online and to share information with their local council to enact positive change to their local area. Kent students confirmed that these interactions with our local services have a huge impact on how integrated they feel as a local resident.  

Kent Union president Aisha Dosanjh said: ‘Meeting and chatting with representatives from local services in an informal way really changes your perception of them for the better. Not only does it make you feel more like a local resident of Canterbury but it also puts a face to who you may be reporting to.’  

You can see the joint safety pages that the Canterbury Safety Partnership provided to students on the Canterbury City Council Webpage.  

This was an amazing opportunity for the Partnership to meet more local residents in the area and discuss safety issues they may have been facing, and how local students impact their neighbourhood. We received an overwhelmingly positive response to the year so far.  

This is set to be an annual occurrence, which we look forward to taking part in next year. 

The Community Safety Partnership comprises the University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent Union, Christ Church Students Union, Canterbury City Council, Kent County Council Wardens, Kent Police and Kent Fire & Rescue. The partnership is working towards a safer Canterbury where our many students can thrive in their local community.