The Dunedin student area - once a hot spot for thieves - is on track to record a significant drop in burglaries.
Provisional crime statistics revealed burglaries were down by more than a third in North Dunedin, driven largely by a sharp drop in burglaries from the student area, Senior Sergeant Mark Crawford said.
"I must stress it is early days in our strategy, but to date it has been successful," Snr Sgt Crawford said.
"Conservative indications are that we are in for a drop in the North Dunedin area, and the student area will be hopefully significantly better.
"We are happy with the results, but time will tell whether it is a sustained success."
Burglars had traditionally targeted computer equipment in student flats so police, University of Otago staff and Neighbourhood Support had been active in visiting residents to talk about crime prevention.
"Gone are the days of problem solving with one agency on its own, and gone are the days of enforcing a problem into submission ...
"We are in the business of prevention and the whole key to this strategy is preventing crime so we look at victims, locations and offenders."
Snr Sgt Crawford praised the work of Neighbourhood Support, community patrols, Campus Watch and particularly the work of campus-based policeman Senior Constable Max Holt.
"But the key players are the students themselves, who have been great to work with."
As part of a long-term strategy, police were looking at introducing a communication system to keep in touch with the student population, which changed from year to year.
Neighbourhood Support Otago regional co-ordinator Sarah Hexamer said the key in the student area was raising awareness regarding "their own responsibility and safety of themselves and their items".
The transitional nature of the student area presented challenges, and "will mean more work in the long run, but it appears to have paid off".
