Theft Persists at Santa Clara

By Danea Stahlnecker

Ample theft and vandalism occur at Santa Clara despite efforts by the school to improve safety measures.

While these crimes are not daily occurrences, they are hardly rare. In the 2010 fiscal year, Campus Safety and Environmental Health and Safety Services recorded 100 incidents of vandalism, 36 bicycle thefts, 31 thefts of other items — particularly laptops and electronics — and 2 incidents of arson.

"The biggest issue we have," said Philip Beltran, director of Campus Safety Services,  "is that we have an open campus." This, he said, is good for the students and easy mobility but bad for the campus's vulnerability.

Junior Ellie Shepard,  had her bike stolen over winter break.. The incident opened her eyes to the vulnerability at Santa Clara University. "I was disappointed and shocked," she said.

Shepard is not alone. At the beginning of the school year, students living in Nobili Hall were caught unaware when the tires on all the bikes on the dorm's racks had been slashed.

Vandalism also finds its way around the campus. During the first week of winter quarter, janitors worked in the early morning, removing toilet paper that was found hanging from trees around Benson.

Most incidents occur in the evening, especially graffiti and bike theft, but daytime is not exempt, especially for electronics. Peak seasons for theft are the beginning of the year, as students are adjusting  to campus and dorm life, as well as around finals time..

Beltran said, "Usually it's a crime of opportunity. We are a destination and target for those who want to do us harm. They sometimes use our own welcome against us."

Santa Clara's location in an affluent area does not seem to completely eliminate the PERPETRATORS crime rate.

"I know that (Santa Clara) usually gets pegged as the ‘rich kids school,'" Shepard said,"but that shouldn't be an excuse to justify theft. I used my bike nearly every day during the quarter and I was really upset when I saw that it was gone."

Even though most incidents are the result of external forces targeting the open campus, internal crimes also occur. Students are urged not to become complacent; after all, theft often happens because property is left unsecured.

Students bringing bikes on campus are asked to register them with the National Bike Registry, to use u-locks and to only lock their bikes to the racks placed around campus.

"I saw campus safety put notes on the chain bike locks, warning people (that) they are easier to break into and they should get a new lock," commented freshman Laura Costanza. "I thought it was nice they did that."

Even though these warnings were set in place, some students still kept their old locks.

"If I had listened, I would still have my bike," said Shepard about the warning notes. "But victims of theft are not without hope. Usually for bike thefts, as long as the bike has been registered and identified, Campus Safety can track down the perpetrators. In the last few months several arrests were made.

Common sense is the best prevention against theft, according to Beltran. "Don't give anybody the opportunity to steal from you," said Beltran. He advised students to keep good records (registration, serial number, etc.), always properly secure personal property, supply adequate identifiers and watch other people's unattended items. "It's a partnership... we have to do it together."

Although Campus Safety currently uses security cameras and a constant uniformed patrol team to monitor and respond to suspicious and criminal activity, most of their successful tips about criminal behavior have been from students or staff.

"We'll find the solution, but first we need to identify the problem," said Beltran, encouraging students to call when they see suspicious activity.

Contact Danea Stahlnecker at dstahlnecker@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4849.