Durham is generally a safe city with low crime rates and victims of crime are never to blame.

However, there may be things you could do to help you feel more free to go out during the darker mornings and nights with more confidence, helping to make things that little bit safer for you and our whole community.

Safety on campus

The University is here to support everyone who may be affected by crime and we have some useful tips for you to consider to help improve your personal safety. You might want to think about:

• Being aware of your surroundings. Pay attention to who and what is around you, especially if walking alone or at night, in dimly lit areas, or walking with headphones in.
• Keeping belongings – such as laptops, bags or other valuables – secure in public spaces like the library or café areas.
• Planning your routes and thinking about the actions you’d take if something were to happen: knowing how to respond can help you feel more confident. The Night Lights map can help to plan your night-time routes.
• Having emergency contacts. Keep family and friends informed of your schedule and whereabouts, and have emergency contacts in your phone, including the Security Team’s number: 0191 334 2222.
• Being careful down by the river. Take care especially walking along riverbanks during hazardous weather conditions or after a night out.  
• Students can use the SU Night-Cab for a good value way to get home safely within a two-mile radius of the city centre.
• Reporting your concerns. If you ever feel threatened or see suspicious activity on campus, you can report it to our Security Team. For more details, visit our security webpage or in-person at the Security Office, Estates and Facilities Directorate, Chemistry Building, DH1 3LE. You can also request to speak to an advisor or report bullying, harassment, hate incidents, sexual misconduct or domestic abuse using the Report and Support page.

Students can get more hints and tips about safety and security while at university in our special security presentation.

Considering some basic precautions can go a long way to staying even safer at Durham. Be proactive about your security, use University resources, and look out for each other.

SafeZone aids personal security

We’ve launched a really useful tool that can help improve personal safety in a variety of situations. 

By downloading the SafeZone app to your phone, you can quickly alert University security if you need urgent or non-emergency help, first aid, or if you feel threatened on campus. 

All staff and students are being encouraged to download SafeZone which will respond to your alerts when you’re on our main campus or any other University campus that has ‘Safezone’.

The Safezone app can send you ‘push messages’ so that in an emergency the app can notify you of a danger to avoid.

Download Safezone from your phone’s app store or the SafeZone website, then log-in using your University email address.

For more information, see the SafeZone intranet page. 

You can find more details about keeping safe at the University on the security webpages.