“Average” thefts on campus

By Nicole Kobie

What do 53 mountain bikes, 38 backpacks and a couple of signs have in common? Last year, they were only a few of the 392 items stolen on campus.

During 2002, theft on campus stayed “roughly average,” according to Campus Security Assistant Manager Ken Kress.

“There have been some incidents, but nothing out of the ordinary,” he said.

The net loss for the nearly 400 items was $328,646.54–which works out to roughly $12 stolen per student. About one fifth of all theft was break-and-enter, with 68 items liberated from labs, lockers, residence, offices and stores on campus. The remaining theft ranged from textbooks to electronics and sports equipment to leather jackets.

“All theft of university property goes through city police,” noted Kress.

Not everything in the report was bad news, however. One vehicle was recovered.

“Sometimes we do locate stolen vehicles on the university property,” said Kress. “There’s a lot of parking lots and a lot of cars.”

As most stolen items are not recovered, prevention is still the best course of action. To keep office equipment safe, Kress recommends locking down all electronic equipment and ensuring all doors are locked. With Campus Security facing budget cuts, constant vigilance may be required to keep theft down.

“It’s difficult to gauge the effects of budget cuts,” said Kress. “But we’ll endeavour to keep a presence on campus.”

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