A recent string of crimes, some involving theft, have been reported on the Hill, and university officials have warned students to protect their property.
“We had three burglaries and a trespass and a grand theft from the residence halls,” said Kristi Godines, a crime analyst for the university police.
The crime wave began on Oct. 16 with a burglary in Hedrick Summit. Since then, crimes have been reported in Saxon Suites, De Neve Plaza, and again in Hedrick Summit. Most residences were entered through an open window.
Godines, who follows crime trends on campus, noticed the related incidents.
“They came in on various crime reports … and then I let the officers know, kind of from a crime trend perspective, what’s going on,” Godines said.
Rick Wan, the assistant director for the Office of Residential Life, said few have expressed concerns to him. Wan added that the ORL has tried to create a safe atmosphere on the Hill.
“We consistently inform residents to be safe and secure of their own environment for their personal safety as well as their valuables. RAs do rounds every evening, and attempt to inform students to … be safe around the community,” Wan said.
Both UCPD and the ORL have issued safety reminders to students. A primary concern is keeping doors and windows closed and locked at all times.
“Most of the burglaries that happen in the residence halls are crimes of opportunity, so it’s typically people leaving their door propped open and then walking down the hallway to visit a friend, or they leave a window open that someone might have access to,” Wan said.
Johanna Hoyt, a second-year geophysics student, said she is vigilant about dorm safety in general.
“Anything I have that’s important, I don’t have laying around my room. I keep it locked up,” Hoyt said.
Hoyt added that while she never leaves her door open or unlocked, she has seen many other students do it.
“There’s tons of people on the floors that I’ve lived on that do that,” Hoyt said.
Wan reiterated that most thefts and break-ins are not planned in advance.
“It may not be somebody actually breaking into anything, it might just be a laptop somebody left out (that gets stolen). In my experience, with many of the campus thefts that happen, it’s because people left something out in the open, and somebody passing by takes it,” Wan said.
Hoyt, who lives in Dykstra Hall, said she doubts students outside of the affected buildings will be concerned about potential theft.
“I think until something happens in Dykstra, they won’t really think that they need to do anything different. I guess it’s a little different when someone’s breaking into your own building as opposed to somewhere else on campus,” Hoyt said.
She added that people on the upper floors of the high rises had less to be worried about in terms of break-ins.
“I live on the seventh floor, so I highly doubt anyone would be able to get through my window,” Hoyt said.
According to the UCPD Crime Analysis Bulletin, anyone who has information regarding these incidents, possible suspect information, or questions or concerns can contact the UCPD at (310) 825-1491.