Canterbury is safest city for students

The Complete University Guide has named Canterbury as the safest city for students in England and Wales.

Compiled from official police data, the 2012 Guide has aimed to give the clearest picture possible of the crime rates in the 25 towns and cities outside London with two or more universities. Its ranking is based on the cumulative rate of crimes most relevant to students: burglary, robbery and assault.

Bernard Kingston, founder of The Complete University Guide, said: ‘While the quality of tuition and the prospects for employment after graduation are key elements in choosing a university course, it is important not to overlook other aspects of the environment in which the student will be living for three or more years.’

Professor Alex Hughes, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Kent, commented: ‘We very much welcome this news as the safety and wellbeing of all our students on and off campus is important to us.’

Every year the University and Kent Union provide updated personal safety and security advice to students. The University also operates its own campus security service and provides night time walking security escorts and free personal alarms to students.

Further information can be found at: www.kent.ac.uk/safety/studentsafety/security.html www.kentunion.co.uk/advice/yourwelfare

Contact: pressoffice@kent.ac.uk

Story published at 12:06pm 7 July 2011