Theft on Campus November 16, 2009

When Anthony Wang returned to the locker room at Campus Recreation Center East after a stress-relieving workout, he was shocked to see his wallet, cell phone, backpack and sweatshirt missing. Theft is one of the most frequently occurring crimes on campus, said Lieutenant Skip Frost of the University of Illinois Police Department. Although he believes theft is handled professionally by the UIPD, students who have been victimized disagree.

Wang, a non-degree student, was disappointed in the way the police and CRCE handled his situation. He said even though there were cameras stationed by the doors, which could have been reviewed to see if anyone walked out with his backpack and other various possessions, they were never checked. Wang immediately called the UIPD when he realized his possessions were gone. He complimented their response time, saying they were on the scene quickly. He followed their procedures and filed a report. However, in the end, none of his missing items were recovered and nobody was caught for committing the crime. The lockers at the time had keypads and in order to operate them a person had to choose a four digit combination. Wang suspected that either someone watched him type his numbers into the keypad or the keypad malfunctioned.

Lieutenant Frost said Wang did the right thing. The quicker authorities are notified, the better the chance of solving the crime. As soon as a crime occurs Lieutenant Frost advises to call 911. Before contacting a family member or friend, the police must be alerted. If the police are not contacted, there is no way to catch a thief or recover stolen items.

Hannah Prosnitz, sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was victimized at her own apartment. Guests had been invited over for a party and Prosnitz said only those who had been invited were allowed in; however, a group of townies came back from a bar with them to the apartment on Fifth and Healy. Four iPods, two cameras, and a Coach wristlet were taken before the offenders left running. Prosnitz called 911, but felt the police handled their situation badly since the officers did not utilize a phone number they had from one of the men. She felt as if the authorities did not care about their predicament and did not do all they could to catch the offenders.

Lieutenant Frost said security is always a top priority for the UIPD because, “theft is a very substantial problem.” The police does everything they can to prevent it, but people need to take responsibility for protecting themselves and their possessions. High target areas such as public dorms, the Union, the library, CRCE and ARC are places where people should have an eye on their belongings at all times. Lieutenant Frost said it is imperative not to fall asleep or go to the bathroom knowing items are unguarded.

Public places such as CRCE are beginning to take extra security measures. They recently changed the locker locks from a battery operated keypad to one where everyone must supply their own combination lock. The battery operated locks were expensive, bad for the environment since they could not be recycled, and inefficient because they often broke said Chase Morgan, a customer service assistant at Campus Recreation. Patrons, like Wang, often returned to their lockers to find them unlocked because they did not work the keypad correctly or else the battery failed. The new method of locking a locker at CRCE is simpler and safer said Morgan. He said this way people are more responsible for their own possessions instead of the facility getting blamed for broken equipment. The locks were only changed about a week ago Morgan said, and since then nothing has been stolen. Now students like Wang, can put higher trust in public lockers and deal with police because of stolen items less frequently.

Lieutenant Frost said University of Illinois compares favorably to theft on other college campuses. He said we are, “probably safer than most, but not as safe as some.” Since the university encompasses two cities, Champaign and Urbana, there is twice as much of a chance of crime occurring.  Lieutenant Frost said, “This is a pretty safe campus; however, it is the real world.” He said he does not want students to be paranoid about safety, but crimes do occur. That is the reason why they are publicly posted. People must be aware of what is out there. The police are on duty 24/7, but they need the community’s cooperation. They need calls to respond to. Many students seem unhappy with the way their emergencies have been handled by authorities; however, Lieutenant Frost said they must understand that it is a mutual responsibility to keep campus safe.