Meet Paula and Nick!

Two dedicated Police officers – Paula Hipkiss and Nick Lewis – will work closely with university teams and you’ll likely see them around our Nottingham campuses and student residential areas in the coming weeks.

Following public consultation earlier this year, the Executive Boards of the University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham City Council have approved the Student Living Strategy. This marks the first time these institutions have made a formal commitment to work proactively together on shared priorities for housing and local services, as well as maximising the benefits that students bring to Nottingham. The Strategy is receiving both UK and worldwide recognition as a sector leading piece of work and calls for more universities to reproduce.

“This strategy will offer a new and positive partnership approach to dealing with challenges around ensuring the availability of good quality, appropriate housing for all Nottingham residents, building vibrant, positive communities and ensuring that we are capitalising on the talent and potential of the people who come to study and live in our city”.

Dr Paul Greatrix, Registrar, University of Nottingham

Both Nottingham Trent and the University of Nottingham have established a new partnership with Nottingham Police. This partnership will focus on student safety, support and drive initiatives in the community to reduce crime and promote safety and build trust and confidence in police across our student, staff and resident communities.

For the University of Nottingham, two dedicated police officers will be based within the Student and Campus Life Directorate with day-to-day working within the Student Living Community Engagement Team. A Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) and a Police Constable (PC) have been hand-picked by University, Police and Students’ Union representatives.

We’re very pleased to introduce the officers who have been recruited; Paula Hipkiss and Nick Lewis. They both have a wealth of knowledge and experience in policing, with Paula joining Nottinghamshire Police in 1990 and Nick joining in 2010.

Paula Hipkiss

Paula has been a PCSO based in Beeston for fourteen years and Nick has spent the last nine years in Response Policing based in Nottingham City Centre.

Regarding her appointment in the new role Paula has said: “Having been based in Beeston, I have worked with many students off campus. I am eager to engage with staff and students on the various campuses and become a familiar and approachable face. During my thirty-four years policing, I have taken many opportunities to improve my knowledge and skills.I am looking forward to this new opportunity to help students feel happy and safe during their university experience.”

In 2018 Paula scooped a Nottinghamshire Police PCSO of the Year award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to neighbourhood policing and in 2017 received a Chief Constable’s Commendation for bravery and rescue of a young boy.

You can find Paula’s’ image on a portrait at the bandstand in Beeston Square, representing the contribution made by ‘blue light’ emergency services workers.

Nick Lewis

Nick has said: “After many years working on the Response Unit in Nottingham City Centre and engaging with students on an almost daily basis, I am extremely happy to be a part of the University Police team and hopeful for the future of the project. I have a lot of experience engaging with students participating in the night-time economy and I have supported them in instances when they have unfortunately been victims of crime. I am now looking forward to being that familiar face that students frequently see and can get to know and trust.”

Nick is known as a hero officer and has numerous incidents of rescue. Such was his bravery, Nick was chosen as a winner of the PC Ged Walker Award at this year’s Nottinghamshire Police Force Awards, held at the force’s headquarters on Tuesday, April 25.

During the awards ceremony, Deputy Chief Constable Steve Cooper told the audience: “Just like PC Ged Walker, PC Lewis, Sergeant Griffin and PC Pannell showed they were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the community and members of the public were kept safe – and we are immensely proud of them.”

Further in 2022, PC Nick Lewis was honoured at the National Police Bravery Awards in London after he showed outstanding courage in two separate incidents.

The Student Living Strategy sets out three main priorities:

• Improving the quality, safety, affordability and location of student accommodation, and encouraging a better balance of student housing choice across the city.
• Encouraging neighbourliness, where students contribute to creating a clean, attractive and sustainable environment, and tackling the impact of waste and noise.
  
• Increasing community cohesion, ensuring students are valued members of their communities and improving graduate retention in the city.