CMU Police offer tips to keeping possessions, self safe at college

• Tweet
• 

Whether incoming freshmen relish or dread it, many have much greater freedom from their parents when they move into their residence hall rooms than ever before.

That freedom also comes with responsibility — in more ways than one.

Incoming freshmen find themselves solely responsible for belongings. Central Michigan University Police take measures to ensure these incoming freshman understand how to protect their items as well as themselves.

“We have a number of presentations that we do to talk about how to put a plan together to avoid those situations,” said CMU Police Chief Bill Yeagley. “From our perspective, one of the most important pieces of information regarding safety we want to provide people is what they do when they find themselves in the presence of some kind of violent encounter; not just on campus, but throughout the course of their life.”

When freshmen move into their residence halls, community officers will also do presentations that touch on how to keep themselves and their property safe.

Lt. Cameron Wassman said the the biggest thing students can do to prevent theft is to simply lock their doors.

“It seems kind of silly to think about, but you would be amazed at how many thefts could be prevented if you lock your door, even when you go check your mail,” he said. “It takes a minute for somebody to walk in to your room and take your laptop and other valuable items.”

Wassman said any valuables should be locked away or placed out of sight. He also suggested students write down the serial numbers of electronic items and other expensive items so that police have a better chance of tracking them if they are stolen.

Bicycles are also vulnerable to theft, even locked. Wassman said several students will secure their bikes with thin cables, which are easy to cut and thus leave the bike more vulnerable to theft.

“Lock your bike and get a bike lock that is durable,” he said. “Heavier metal locks are a lot harder to cut.”

Twenty-six blue light alarms are set up across campus that are directed to the CMU Police Department to provide for emergency safety. After calling, an officer will arrive on the scene usually within one minute.

For any other safety problems, Wassman encourages students to call the CMU Police Department or stop in to report anything lost or stolen.

“If anything gets stolen, call us and we will conduct a thorough investigation,” Wassman said. “Hopefully we will catch somebody.”