An Garda Síochána launch “Safe at College” campaign to ensure students stay safe and feel safe in their college experience

An Garda Síochána has this week launched a campaign to help keep students safe with advice to be provided on topics such as rental fraud, money mules, staying safe, driving, drugs, sexual consent and hate crime.

The impact of the pandemic has meant that for majority of students this year will be the first year they will have the full campus experience. The aim of the #SafeatCollege campaign is to raise awareness amongst students and to work in partnership to make this new experience a safe and secure one by being mindful and taking steps to stay safe at college.

The campaign will cover a number of topics over the course of the next few months to provide crime prevention information on the types of crime that may impact on student life. Each programme will be evidence based and focus on topics that may be more relevant for a particular time of year such as the crime prevention advice issued about rental fraud at the start of the academic year and personal safety and socialising throughout the term.

A key element in this programme are the more than 55 Campus Watch Schemes across the country. The Campus Watch Programme is a crime prevention and community safety programme similar to a residential Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. It operates as a partnership between An Garda Síochána and the campus occupants.

Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman, Roads Policing and Community Engagement comments, 'We want to ensure students enjoy their college experience and remind both you and your parents/carers there is information and help available through the Campus Watch Schemes run in colleges across the country. Through this partnership approach you will have information about the importance of keeping safe throughout student life, be that on campus, at home or socialising both online and in person.

Given the restrictions relating to Covid 19 last year, we recognise this year will be different as some of you may be effectively attending campus for the first time. It is understandable you will want to get out and meet each other. The #SafeatCollege campaign is designed to help you, to provide you with information and tools to ensure you all have a safe experience. It is also raises awareness of the longer term consequences of certain behaviour, for example losing the opportunity to travel and the impact on future job prospects.

This safety campaign provides information directly to students and across our social media channels, we encourage you to make use of them and work with us to keep yourselves and others in the community safe.’

Campus Watch

The Campus Watch programme is a crime prevention and community safety programme similar to a residential Neighbourhood Watch scheme. There are over 55 schemes in place across the country. It operates as a partnership between An Garda Síochána and the Campus occupants.

It works on the basis that every member of campus can help to improve the quality of life of all on site by looking out for other students, staff and visitors, and reporting suspicious activities to the Gardaí. Campuses are busy locations and everyone has their part to play.

Advice and information can be found in the Campus Watch Information Leaflet which is available in multiple languages on the Campus Watch page at www.garda.ie

Campus Watch booklet is available here

An Garda Síochána warn of the rise in number of younger people targeted to be Money Mules

As part of its #SafeAtCollege campaign and in partnership with the Banking Payments Federation of Ireland, An Garda Síochána is warning third level students against becoming a ‘Money Mule’.

A Money Mule is a person who allows their account to be used for the transfer of other’s stolen or illegal money. They may or may not be aware of the crime, however, they are complicit if they recklessly allow their account to be used to launder the proceeds of criminality.

Those aged 18-24, and those over 55 years of age are the most commonly targeted age groups by organised crime gangs to act as money mules.
Vulnerable people such as those who are new to the country, students, people who are unemployed or under financial pressure are also likely to be targeted. Those who purchase illegal drugs may be offered to pay off their drug debt by becoming a money mule.

Gardaí caution that ignorance is no excuse, and the penalties include a prison sentence of up to 14 years, a criminal conviction with a lifetime criminal record, extradition to the country where the predicate crime occurred, and not being permitted to open another bank account.

Young people are asked to heed warning signs. For instance, an approach via a social media platform or in-person (usually in a social setting or at college) with an offer to make easy money. The individual who makes the approach only uses a social media handle and will not provide information to identify themselves. The person approached is then requested to provide all details relating to their account, including online security access codes.
There can also be advertisements for jobs on online platforms offering seemingly easy or quick money that are in fact a recruitment front for money mules.

Anyone who thinks they are being approached to become a money mule should refuse to provide their bank details and to contact An Garda Síochána. If an account has already been compromised, the account holder should contact their bank and An Garda Síochána.

Earlier this month, An Garda Síochána confirmed that over 830 money mules had been identified in Ireland in the past number of years.

The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau estimate that there are at least 4,000 money mules linked to their investigations who have used Irish addresses. The vast majority are young people in all corners of Ireland.

Speaking today, Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) said,

"Those who agree to allow their bank account to be used for the transfer of illegally obtained money may not necessarily realise that they are enabling very dangerous international criminal organisations and are involving themselves with these criminals.

"It seems quite simple and at the same time quite lucrative, but the reality is that those who allow their bank account to be used are taking a huge personal risk. More than that, they are in essence assisting ruthless criminals involved in human trafficking, people smuggling, terrorism, and even wars.

"An Garda Síochána is sending this warning because it isn’t the hardened criminals face on CCTV at an ATM. It isn’t their phone number or bank account details linked to the transfer of illegal gains – it’s those of the money mule – if an offer sounds too good to be true it probably is. There is no easy money to be made”

Note:

Money mules and herders are identified by Gardaí in a number of ways:

• Analysis of intelligence and information received from banks
• Analysis of transfers in/out of a suspect’s account(s)
• Analysis of information obtained from Interpol and Europol
• Analysis of a suspect’s phone
• Analysis of CCTV evidence
• Confidential information obtained

#SafeAtCollege Campaign:

To coincide with the new academic year, An Garda Síochána launched a campaign to help keep students safe with advice to be provided on topics such as rental fraud, money mules, staying safe, driving, drugs, sexual consent and hate crime.

The impact of the pandemic has meant that for majority of students this year will be the first year they will have the full campus experience.

The aim of the #SafeatCollege campaign is to raise awareness amongst students and to work in partnership to make this new experience a safe and secure one by being mindful and taking steps to stay safe at college.

The campaign will cover a number of topics throughout the term such as ‘Money Mules’ to provide crime prevention information on the types of crime that may impact on student life.

Each programme will be evidence based and focus on topics that may be more relevant for a particular time of year such as the crime prevention advice issued about rental fraud at the start of the academic year and personal safety and socialising throughout the term.

A key element in this programme are the more than 55 Campus Watch Schemes across the country.

The #SafeAtCollege programme is a crime prevention and community safety programme similar to a residential Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. It operates as a partnership between An Garda Síochána and the campus occupants.