Do not be a ‘walking advert to criminals’.
That is the message from SaferMK’s latest campaign to help prevent people becoming victims of robbery.
Entitled ‘Oi! Who’s eyeing you up’, it aims to make people more aware of what is going on around them and not to advertise valuable items when they are out and about.
Detective Chief Inspector Justin Fletcher, head of the serious acquisitive crime delivery group, said: “So many of us text and talk on our mobile phones when we are walking along and this is precisely the kind of thing that attracts the attention of a thief.
“Inover half of all robberies committed a mobile phone is stolen.
“People do exactly the same with their iPods and MP3 players and not only does it distract you and make you less aware of the people around you, but you become a walking advert to criminals.
“This campaign gives people some really easy safety tips to help them reduce their chances of becoming a robbery victim.
“Often it is younger people who are targeted so our schools officers will be making sure that the postcards and the safety messages get to the young people who will benefit most from them.” Bec King, reducing serious acquisitive crime co-ordinator for SaferMK, said: “Milton Keynes is a safe place to live, and by launching this campaign we hope to keep it that way.
“By simply being aware of what’s going on around you when out and about in Milton Keynes you can reduce the changes of becoming a victim of robbery.”
■ You can find more safety tips at www.safermk.com.