Photo by Jessica Blunt
Jennifer Giles A freshman in accounting had a Play Station 3 and a couple of DVDs stolen from her room in Moore.

Since spring break, a seeming string of thefts has hit Moore Hall. According to Lt. Syrilyn Tong of the UAF Police Department, four thefts have been reported since Mar. 28 in the freshman dorm.

“It always seems to happen around Christmas and before kids leave (for the summer),” she said, “it’s easier to get away with.”

“We’ve had thefts before, but this is, in my memory, one of the most intense periods where we’ve had so many seemingly at one time,” said Kevin Huddy, the director of Residence Life.

The thefts are reminiscent of a rash of thefts last year in the Cutler apartments, though those thefts were in the course of one night and were solved quickly, also attributing the culprits, two Nanook men’s basketball players, to a string of thefts in Lathrop Hall the year before.

While last year’s thefts was mostly focused on laptop computers, and the previous year’s on digital cameras, iPods, and other smaller items, the spree in Moore Hall seems to be across the board; a laptop, a Playstation, a credit card, even walrus tusks.

Outside of Moore Hall, in the same time frame, there have been three thefts reported from the upper MBS parking lot, one from the SRC and one from the Elvey building

Also, while the previous two years’ thefts were attributed to a small group of people working more or less together, this year’s cases seem to be different. Two of the cases are already solved, according to Tong and Director of Residence Life, Kevin Huddy.

“They face consequences on two fronts,” said Huddy, “one is through the criminal court system … then there’s the residence life judicial system. Every case is considered individually, but by and large, we don’t want people living with us who are going to be stealing from people who live with them.”

Huddy said that some students have been asked to leave campus housing due to their offenses.

If you live in the dorms, how can you keep your stuff from getting stolen? It’s fairly simple, according to Huddy: just lock your door, and if your car door locks don’t work, don’t leave valuable items in it.

“These aren’t the world’s brightest thieves,” he said, “they’re not cat-burglars that are sneaking in. They’re walking up and checking doors and if it’s unlocked they’re taking what they can.”

Lt. Tong agreed: “Thefts are a crime of opportunity; if someone sees something juicy just hanging there, they’re more likely to take it.”

She added, “If they had been locked up, I guarantee they wouldn’t have been stolen.”

Huddy encouraged locking doors, but also tried to quash the hopes of would-be thieves: “I’ve been here nine years now, and almost always, thefts are solved,” he said, “There are no secrets in freshman halls. If somebody out there’s still thinking about stealing, the chances are really high that they’re going to get caught.”

Another factor in dorm thefts is that many victims don’t report their loss immediately. Many students wait until an insurance claim requires a police report, Tong said. Huddy said that often a resident assistant will eventually find out about the theft. “We have a policy that when we find out about a crime in the resident hall, we report it,” he said. Tong also said that reporting thefts as soon as possible makes them easier to solve, and helps the police department with statistics on how safe campus really is.