Burglaries offer lesson to lock dorm rooms

The theft of student belongings from unlocked residence halls are on the rise — but the good news is that students themselves hold the key to crime prevention.

“If you lock your door, you greatly reduce the opportunity to be victimized,” said Branden Petitt, associate director for the Office of Student Development at UC Davis. “I meet with parents during summer orientation and this is something they always ask about. My standard line is, ‘Ask your student to lock their door and use simple common sense, and they shouldn’t be victimized.’”

According to figures compiled by the UC Davis Police Department, there have been 37 residence hall burglaries between September and February — up by10 from the same time period a year ago.

Residence halls are typically kept locked and require a resident’s registration card for entry. Residents have separate keys to their own rooms.

Most of this year’s burglaries have taken place in the Cuarto residence halls, where students share a suite with a common room and separate bedrooms.

UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza said patrols have been increased in the areas of the burglaries.

Petitt said students frequently leave the common room door to the hallway unlocked. He said thieves search for open rooms and come looking for textbooks and electronics — particularly gaming systems and computers – and for items small enough to carry out in a bag or backpack.

Petitt has a few theories about what might account for the increase: the poor economy and “word on the street” that campus residence halls are an easy mark. Police said they are not sure who is responsible for recent burglaries, although nonresidents are typically responsible for thefts.

“We are an open community, we are a welcoming community — and that’s a good thing,” said Chief Spicuzza. “We don’t want that to stop, but we need to help our young people to be aware of their surroundings,” she added. “That’s part of their education.”

Spicuzza and Petitt advise students to engrave or otherwise mark their gear and to think twice about perpetuating thievery by purchasing items sold under suspicious circumstances.