Students, officials take steps to minimize larceny on campus

On Feb. 9, a safety notice was sent out to all campus students via e-mail and Facebook that separate vehicle larcenies (break-ins) occurred across all three Suffolk Campuses. The incidents all occurred between the hours of 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Feb. 7 and the advisory notice was subsequently sent out by the Office of Public and Fire Safety two days later.

The notice advised each student to save the Office of Public Safety phone number in cell phones so student can notify them immediately in the event of further larceny. In addition, it was strongly recommended that students refrain from leaving valuables visible in their car.

The notice neglected to mention whether or not items of value were lifted from the vehicles subjected to the larcenies on Feb. 7. However, the notice clearly stated the need to lock cars at all times and to never leave valuable property in vehicles. If valuable items cannot be locked away, they should be relocated to the trunk or in a concealed location in the back.



“Even little things like a few dollar bills I make sure that I put them under something or I put them into the glove box,” Jon Wright, fourth semester Suffolk student, said. “Also, even if there is no iPod connected to it I make sure that the iPod connection wires can not be seen. People may think that there is something connected to it and try to break in.”

A crime statistics listing on Suffolk Community’s website stated that between 2007 and 2009, there were an estimated 20 vehicle larcenies and at least one motor vehicle theft across Suffolk’s three campuses.

“I would definitely lock my car and hide valuables. Usually if there’s nothing valuable in sight people are more apt to leave your car alone,” said Suffolk Journalism major Josh Batchelder.

In a brief survey on Suffolk’s Ammerman Campus, conducted amongst 20 students, garnered the following results: 17 out of 20 claim that their vehicles had never been broken into, one claims that theirs had been broken into in their first semester, and two claim that theirs had never personally been subject to larceny, but they witnessed a break-in taking place before. All 20 also stated that they would prevent larceny by either hiding their valuables or personally carrying their valuables with them.

Although the survey results were relatively inconclusive, it was stated in the advisory notice that the three larcenies that occurred on Feb. 7 took place in nighttime hours when there is less likely to be witnesses. This is all the more reason for students and faculty to stay vigilant in order to prevent larcenies from reoccurring on campus.