Police are warning students heading for Leicester this week to be on the look-out for snatch-thieves who target people for their mobile phones.
Thousands of De Montfort University students are arriving in the Hinckley Road area of Leicester this week.
Officers from Hinckley Road police station are going out and about to urge them to be mindful of the dangers of snatch-thieves who tend to target the area.
Officers have patrolled areas of the patch where there are concentrations of student accommodation blocks, including Bede Island.
Inspector Steve Brown, commander of Hinckley Road police station, said: "A lot of our students will be away from home for the first time in their lives and we are going to try to do as much crime prevention work with them as we can.
"People walk to and fro with their phones in their hands and the thieves know this.
"There's a variety of methods for these thefts, but the classic way and the one we suffer from is people on bikes.
"This method enables them to pass by, take the phone from their victim's hand and get away quickly."
In August, there were five phone snatches in the Westcotes ward, which has the greatest concentration of student accommodation blocks and rented homes in the Hinckley Road area.
Insp Brown said: "We have seen a decrease in the past few weeks, but we are aware that could change with students arriving in the city.
"At the moment the number is low, but we need people to be vigilant so we keep it that way."
A 21-year-old woman, whose phone was snatched in the Narborough Road area last summer, said: "A kid with a hood over his face came up behind me and snatched my phone.
"It's a year ago now, but I'm still really careful now whenever I'm out and I'm always aware of my surroundings.
"I look around before I take my phone out and make sure I only use it when I feel absolutely safe."
Officers from Hinckley Road will also be speaking to students about the importance of taking basic home security measures to thwart burglars.
Beat teams which cover Leicestershire's two other universities – Leicester and Loughborough – also step up the crime prevention campaigns at the beginning of the new university term.
Assistant city mayor, Councillor Sarah Russell, who represents the Westcotes ward, welcomed the police campaign.
She said: "A friend of mine had her phone stolen in Narborough Road.
"She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around because she thought it was someone she knew.
"There was a man on a bike and he took her phone out of her hand and rode off. It was all over in seconds.
"The message the police are getting out is very important because we have the freshers arriving this week.
"But the message that people should be aware of their surroundings when they use their phones in public applies to everyone."
