A report by The Complete University Guide has found that areas where University of Cambridge students reside have higher than average crime levels compared to other university towns. 

Using measures of burglary, violence, robbery and sexual offences, the report shows that there are, in total, 41 offences per 1,000 residents with regard to Cambridge. By comparison, areas where Anglia Ruskin students reside are described as among the safest with 30 offences per 1,000 residents. 

The city’s score makes Cambridge residents the 30th-most vulnerable to crime in the country, mildly safer than Northumbria but more imperilled than attendees of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama.

The report compiles statistics for the crimes which are most likely to affect students and compares their prevalence near the student accommodation of 129 universities in England and Wales over the course of 12 months, as opposed to the periods when students are expected to be in residence. It does not identify crimes committed specifically against students, statistics for which are not collected by the police.

Responding to the news, a University spokesman told Varsity: “We take the welfare of students very seriously and do everything we can to ensure that they are able to study and live in an environment in which they feel safe and supported and are treated with dignity and respect."

"However this survey is not a direct measure of student crime and shows crime rates over a geographic area which covers the whole of the city centre, and relates to crime over the full year rather than focussing on the much shorter academic terms.”

Crime rates also vary considerably across Cambridge. According to police statistics, crimes such as theft and personal violence are most common in the vicinity of St Andrew’s Street and Sidney Street, near Emmanuel College, Christ’s College, and Sidney Sussex College. Magdalene College is also located in a crime hotspot. Unsurprisingly, far fewer crimes are committed near colleges on the outskirts of the city, such as Selwyn College and Newnham College.