Most people coming to a festival want to enjoy the music and soak up the atmosphere, but some, unfortunately, have more sinister motives. These people come to steal and target individuals with a view to relieving them of their hard earned personal property.
We do everything we can to prevent people from becoming victims, but it is inevitable that some crime will take place.
There are, however a few easy steps you can take to make the festival safer for you.
Take care of your stuff
- Before the festival, buy a UV marker pen and mark all of your property with your post code and house number. UV pens can be purchased from DIY or homeware-type shops, or online.
- Make a list of all of the serial and model numbers of any electrical item that you intend to take with you.
Mobile phones?
- Make a note of the IMEI number for any mobile phones you own, which you can find by keying *#06# into your handset This will enable your service provider to cancel the handset making it useless for anyone else using it if it's stolen.
- Registering your mobile on www.immobilise.com so that it can be returned to you if stolen and found, or returned to you if you lose it.
- List a few contacts as I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency) on your mobile phone, so that, in a worse case scenario, the emergency services will be able to contact your family – and it also might mean that we can re-unite you with your phone. (ICE numbers should be parents and other members of the family or close friends)
Pack light!
When you decide what you are going to take with you, look at what you are going to need at the festival and try to pack light. The less you take means that it will be easier for you to keep an eye on it and will present less of a target for any opportunistic thief.
Don't be a show-off
When you get to the festival site be aware of what items you have on show. If you walk around with all your worldly goods on display you will be more likely to be targeted.
Take valuables to bed
Although we strongly advise you leave your valuables at home, we understand that you may have to bring some with you. If you do, to keep them safe at night.
Safety in numbers
If you are going with a group of friends remember there is safety in numbers - look out for each other, and if you walk around the site at night, don't do it alone. Try to keep an eye out for each others things and especially each other.
Car crime
- If you travel to the festival by car, treat it the same as leaving your vehicle parked when you go to a shopping centre:
- Don't leave high value items on show in side your car, and don't hide them after you’ve parked your car in the car park as it is a real possibility that someone will be watching.
- If you open your glove compartments and show that there is nothing of value kept in the car then it makes it much more likely that a opportunistic thief will pass you by.
- If you have a Sat Nav, move it and all of its components out of sight - this includes the cradle and suction cup.
Drinking?
Statistics show that if you’re drunk you are at a much greater risk of becoming a victim of an assault or target of crime.
We are not telling you not to drink but to watch how much you drink and how it affects you. After all, you might need to remember where the loo without the massive queue is or maybe how to find your tent. If you drink a little too much you may lose track of your surroundings and become disorientated which can make you a greater target.
There are stories on the media about Rohypnol, GHB and other so called 'date rape drugs' and there are some really scary tales out there. In reality, cases of drug induced 'rape' occur very rarely, and certainly not as often as the press would have us believe.
However, reported incidents of sexual assault when someone has consumed an excessive amount of alcohol are much more common. Reduce this risk:
Thinking of bringing drugs to the festival?
Click here to read about our passive drugs dogs who have their own tickets to festivals throughout the two counties.
