Off-campus thefts increase

By Allison Sundaram

Students living off campus have faced a recently emboldened round of house thefts over the past two months, causing some to rethink their home security measures.

The two-to-three-block radius around campus, which houses many university students, has become a profitable area for thieves, who seem to target small, easily carried and resalable electronic goods such as iPods and iPod accessories, digital cameras, laptop computers and cash.

Theft is a common occurrence in the neighborhood. However, many of them are not reported to Santa Clara police.

There were five thefts reported in homes surrounding the university Sept. 5-18, according to the Santa Clara Police Department. Statistics for prior months were not known.

According to area residents, the thefts usually happen around August and September, during the move-in period for returning students who rent off-campus houses.

"They're usually when people aren't locking doors," junior off-campus resident Jenn Peterson said.

Although most thefts are limited to smaller electronics, the amount stolen can still add up. Peterson had $4,000 worth of electronics and valuables taken from her house on Washington Street on Aug. 26, including her laptop, iPod, digital camera and assorted other valuables and cash.

In the Alviso apartment block, senior Emily Bjorklund and her housemates were burgled twice in the course of a month. The first break-in occurred on an August night while all of the house residents were asleep. The perpetrators entered through an unlocked side door and stole iPods and laptops from the downstairs area.

"None of the houses around lock their doors," said senior resident Christina Padden, whose laptop was stolen during the break-in.

The second break-in occurred on the first day of school, most likely during the Monday afternoon Convocation ceremony, according to Bjorklund. Her iPod, bought as a replacement for the one originally taken, was again stolen, this time from the upstairs bedroom. Her housemates lost digital cameras.

"We thought the main lesson was not leaving stuff downstairs." Bjorklund said.

According to Officer Patti Lynch of the Santa Clara Police Department, many of these houses are easy targets for thieves.

"Doors are left open, vehicles aren't locked, large groups of people are in your house. It's easy access," she said.

According to the Santa Clara Police Department Web site, some simple theft prevention methods include engraving a driver's license number on small electronics, securing outside doors with deadbolt locks and adding auxiliary locks to windows and sliding doors to prevent them from being opened.

Lynch also advocated moving valuables to a "secure room" in the house that was always kept locked, particularly during parties.

Contact Allison Sundaram at (408) 554-4546 or asundaram@scu.edu.