Jonathan Jacobskind/Staff Writer
Students may think twice about leaving their valuables unattended. According to the FIU Police Department crime logs, there have been a total of 43 reported theft crimes since the beginning of the semester.
Out of the 43 reported theft crimes thieves have had a preference for electronics as 10 laptops were reported stolen along with seven iPhones and one iPad. Other notable reported theft crimes ranged from textbooks and wallets to a bicycle and someone’s identity.
As for the electronics, FIU Chief of Police Alexander D. Casas spoke about several recent reports of laptops, cell phones and other electronics being reported stolen around densely populated places around campus such as the Graham Center, Green Library and the Recreation Center.
“It’s not the increase in enrollment. It’s not that we have more students this time, since its typical that at the beginning of spring we’ll usually get a rush,” Casas said. “It’s [that] people are just leaving their stuff around. It’s an opportunistic crime where someone will go use the bathroom and leave their laptops and stuff like [that].”
With just a 63 officers on the force and more than 43,000 students, the chance is drastically slim that a thief will be caught in the act. Casas believes there is an answer to that solution, noting that students should be more responsible and even though it may be a hassle, they should consider taking all their belongings with them at all time. Whether it’s a two-minute bathroom or coffee break. Students should never leave their valuables unattended.
Despite thieves taking advantage of students leaving their stuff unattended, junior and psychology major Melissa Garrison does not buy into the need to be so overprotective with her stuff and trusts the students in her vicinity.
“There so many people around that if something were to happen, someone would tell me who stole my stuff,” Garrison said. “I feel like people are also too much into their own things like studying or doing homework to steal someone’s stuff.”
jonathan.jacobskind@fiusm.com
