Music lovers going to this year’s Reading Festival are advised to keep any valuable property at home.
Last year, crime figures decreased by about 44 per cent with 250 crimes reported at the site over the festival period compared with a total of 445 crimes reported on site in 2010. Although this is a great result of last year’s policing operation, the main crimes reported were theft from tents (139 reported) and theft from persons (51 reported).
Thames Valley Police would like to advise anyone attending Reading Festival this year to leave items such as MP3 players, iPods, iPads and cameras at home, or if you do need to bring them, make use of the on site lockers.
Supt Stuart Greenfield who will be Silver Commander at the festival said: “Thames Valley Police will again be working closely with Festival Republic in support of the stewarding operation at this year’s Reading Festival in order to keep the event as safe as possible for those attending and to minimise disruption to local communities.
“We will be carrying out high visibility patrols within the site and surrounding areas and at the same time, deploying covert officers to identify and apprehend criminals.
“The past two years have seen a significant reduction in all crime types and we are confident of building on that success this year.”
Personal safety advice below.
Personal safety
- If you can’t take your valuables with you when you leave the tent, leave them at home
- Put money, tickets, credit cards and mobile phones in a zipped pocket or use a money belt
- Do not bring large sums of cash. Only bring what you need and keep it on you at all times
- Postcode your property with a UV pen which you are planning on bringing to the festival so that it is identifiable. Visit www.securedbydesign.com for more information.
- If you arrive by car, don’t leave anything on display in your vehicle, such as sat navs, car stereos, CDs or mobile phones. Don’t put items in your glove box or the boot and leave your glove box open to show that it does not contain any valuables
Mobile phone security
- Lock: Use the phone’s security lock code or pin number
- Mark: Security mark (in permanent form) the phone and battery with your postcode and the number or name of your home.
- Register: Register the phone with www.immobilise.com. Police use this database to get stolen property back to their owners.
- Stay Alert: When you use a mobile phone, remain aware of your surroundings. Try not to use it in crowded areas or anywhere you feel unsafe.
- Hide: Avoid displaying phones in public view. If you must use the phone, be discreet. Keep it with you at all times and never leave it unattended.
- Record: Keep a record of the phone’s 15 digit serial or IMEI number, which is unique to each phone. Find it by keying in * # 0 6 # * (star, hash, zero, six, hash, star) or by looking behind the battery. This number could help the police trace ownership quickly
Festival goers can follow TVP on Twitter @TVP_ReadingFest for police news.
