RANKED in the top ten of the most popular universities in the country by graduate employers, the University of Birmingham is home to around 24,500 students who flock to study here from across the globe.

It is usually a student’s first time living away from home, and on their own, it’s an exciting step towards independence and paving their own path in life at the British redbrick university.

But sadly their innocence and laid-back approach to domestic security also makes them a target of opportunist criminals.

The job of helping stop students, often as young as 19 and 20, from becoming victims of crime, both while on campus and in surrounding residential areas in Selly Oak, is that of Pc Andy Smith.

West Midlands Police has always had a dedicated student officer at the university for more than two decades, but Pc Smith is the latest officer to be deployed to the role.

And his main priority is to tackle burglaries.

Pc Smith, who has now been in post for just over a month, said: “The university and surrounding residential area attracts offenders from all sorts of areas, but the majority are from the Birmingham area.

“Around 85 per cent of the burglaries in Selly Oak happen because windows and doors are left unlocked in student accommodation and valuables left on display.

“For example, a laptop left by an open window.

“Victims of burglary are often second year students. After being in halls of residents for a year, it’s often their first time living away from home, where security has been their parents’ responsibility.

“Where multi-occupancy is common, often student residents assume other students are still in the property and don’t lock up, or when they return assume that others will lock up before going to bed.

“It’s very important to have an officer dedicated to the students and it’s my job to get the crime prevention message across.”