5 Security precautions to stay safe in your hostel

Living on or off campus is an exciting experience. Lots of friends to hang out with, parties to attend and thieves to deal with. Yes, thieves, almost every student has had to deal with a thief or two. We put together a little guide to help you stay safe during your stay in school.

1. Lock your room

It may sound very simple but the reason for most thefts on or off campus is just because a roommate left the door unlocked. Some just need to dash upstairs and get salt from a friend and by the time they get back, the thieve would have already made away with valuable items. Whenever you are the only person in the room and you have to leave, then make sure that the room is locked. It will be a good habit to also lock away your valuables when you are leaving your room just in case a roommate fails to lock the door when you are out of the room.

2. Have emergency numbers

How many of you know the emergency numbers of the ambulance, police or fire department? Well here they are;

POLICE: 191

FIRE SERVICE: 192/999

AMBULANCE: 193

You can also check out the Ghana Government website for more specific numbers for your region. Don’t hesitate to ask your university SRC or Dean of Student for emergency numbers for students of the school.

3. Know your floormates

Ghanaians have a habit of not talking to others unless they are spoken to. Not the best thing to do if you want to make connections in life. These people you meet as floormates of your hostel could become business or life partners in the future. My point is that you never know when you might need help so have the phone numbers of your floor mates so that in the event of any theft case, you can call people close by for help.

4. Report suspicious characters

A lot of times the thieves in hostels are either friends of hostel tenants, hostel tenants themselves or locals in the area. Report suspicious characters who just enter the hostel for no reason or anyone who just seems strange. When they notice that the hostel mates are united and outspoken, the rate of theft will surely reduce.

5. Follow the rules

Every hostel has its reasons for setting rules. Managers don’t want to sit on your happiness when they tell you that no visitors after 9pm. The rules are put there to help keep you safe so do your best to follow them even if you may not like it.

In summary be very vigilant. Its never a nice feeling to lose that laptop, Samsung S9 or iPhone 10 only to know that it could have easily been prevented. If you have other safety tips which you use in your hostel then feel free to share it with us in the comments below.