Decrease in burglaries at residence halls, apartment complexes
A lack of reporting could be to blame for the decreased number of burglaries in residence halls and apartments.
According to the campus safety report from September, campus burglaries have gone from 34 in 2008 to 16 in 2011.
When something is stolen from a residence hall, the protocol for the hall staff is to encourage the party involved to file a report.
"We surrender to the police and let them handle it," said Campbell Residence Hall Director James Span Jr.
Span said burglary is something he rarely sees in his residence hall. He said the security for residence halls is good, with doors both closing and locking automatically.
Alisha Millis, property manager of Jamestown Apartments, said she has not had any major concerns with burglary.
"A lot of them don't report it," Millis said.
Samantha Houser, apartment supervisor for Kewadin Apartments, agreed there have been few reported instances of burglaries.
A GPS was stolen from Kewadin Apartments, but other than that incident, the complex has been very quiet, Houser said.
The security process when an item is stolen from an apartment is very similar to the policy at residence halls.
"After the report is made, all we can do is turn it over to the police," Houser said.
Central Michigan University Chief of Police Bill Yeagley said after the report is filed, a number of things happen.
"Once we're aware of the incident, we go to the scene, take pictures and try to predict a time frame," Yeagley said.
When such a crime happens in the residence halls, surveillance tapes are searched once the time frame is narrowed down. In these tapes, the police look for any suspicious activity that may lead them to the perpetrator, Yeagley said.
He said the police are close with the pawn shop in Mount Pleasant, so when something is stolen, they can go and search for that specific item. Stolen items have been located there a couple of times, Yeagley said.
To prevent such burglaries from happening, several precautions are taken. Every incoming freshman is required to sit through a presentation showing a set of scenarios that can happen if their doors are left ajar and expensive items are left exposed.
Through this orientation event, residents are encouraged to mark belongings, leave nothing valuable in plain sight and always lock doors when the room is vacant, Yeagley said.
