The rate of thefts and burglaries this winter has been dramatically higher than last year, making students uneasy about the safety of their on-campus housing.
According to Department of Public Safety records, a total of five burglaries and two thefts occurred during the winter break, including several in Henle Village and Alumni Square. Six laptops were reported stolen as compared to one during the same period last year. Investigative Supervisor Sergeant Doris Bey said the crimes are currently being investigated by DPS.
In addition to these incidents, DPS released an e-mail Safety Alert on Jan. 14, detailing a recent break-in at a student’s home on 37th Street and advised students to lock all windows and doors when leaving residences, register laptops and bicycles with DPS and secure their valuables.
On Dec. 3, three Henle residents in two neighboring apartments filed reports with DPS for missing laptops. Anne Hensler (NHS ‘05), whose laptop was stolen, said fire alarms had been set off three times in Henle during that day. Hensler estimated more fire drills were triggered that day than any other day during the semester.
Sergeant Bey said DPS was unable to confirm the laptops were taken as a result of the fire alarms in Henle.
Owen Pope (MSB ‘05), also a Henle resident, initially thought his friends had played a prank on him when he first noticed his laptop was missing on Dec. 3. During a second fire drill, as Hensler and Pope met outside the building, both realized their laptops had been stolen.
“In the following days we realized it was pretty easy to open our door by pushing it hard enough. Apparently our lock had been broken all year,” Hensler added.
Pope said DPS and the Metropolitan Police Department were called in and filed reports about Pope’s laptop and his roommate’s backpack, both of which had been stolen.
“I think DPS’ response was pretty adequate—they did the best that they could do,” Pope said.
On Jan. 7 two Alumni Square residents returned to campus to find that various items had been taken from their apartment. Aaron Sokolik (MSB ‘05) reported a stolen laptop and PlayStation 2 to DPS. Sokolik’s roommate also filed a report for a stolen DVD player.
“When my roommate came back, he said the lock at the street level of the building was broken,” Sokolik said. “Our lock wasn’t broken. I think the security here is too lax. The way the building is set up, we should have key cards. Too many people have keys [to access the building’s main door].”
Hensler hinted at a feeling of general insecurity. “To have my laptop stolen from the one place I thought it was safe is disappointing and scary,” she said. “If they can get into our locked apartment to steal our computers, they can also get in at night.”
Sergeant Bey urged students to report “any incident, any suspicious act or suspicious persons they observe, because that way we are able to better serve our community. We foster community policing, we rely on the students to share with us what occurs to them.”
