An increase in campus thefts prompted Safety and Security to post a BlitzMail bulletin earlier this month, warning students about the danger of leaving unattended items in College residence halls.
Safety and Security Officer Rebel Roberts said her office has not yet totaled the amount of stolen property in January but said the number of thefts is "uncommon for this time of the year."
Roberts said this year more students than usual have reported bicycles and ice skates stolen from outside their dorms and around Occom Pond.
But there is no widespread pattern to the increased number of thefts, which occurred in hallways, students' rooms and outdoors, at all times of the day, Roberts said.
"Items from boots to barbells have been reported stolen and it's not just limited to hallways," Roberts said. Several students, who left their rooms unlocked, reported stolen property, including a television and a video cassette recorder, she said.
Roberts said students should lock their doors every time they leave their rooms and never leave items unattended in dormitory hallways. She said students should lock their windows, especially those living in the basement, on the first-floor or near fire-escapes, when leaving for an extended period of time.
She said students can easily track stolen items by using the College-sponsored Anti-Theft Identification Program, which lets students engrave personal property free.
Students can borrow engraving tools from Safety and Security to mark their belongings, by leaving their student I.D.s as collateral. An officer writes down a serial number for each item and gives it to the student.
Safety and Security only keeps bicycle serial numbers on file but students can keep a record of their own items.
Roberts said 16 thefts were reported in December, including six bicycles and two computers. The total value stolen was $7,956.40. Safety and Security recovered only $18.40 in stolen property.
Crime statistics and violations are regularly listed under the Safety and Security bulletin on BlitzMail but are usually not available for several months.
While many incidents have been reported, there are a large number of robberies that Safety and Security never hears about, Roberts said.
"A lot of students don't report thefts either because they feel the value of the stolen items is too low or that word of mouth is enough," she said.
