In the last three months, thieves have burglarized more cars on Texas Wesleyan property than all of last year combined.
The 2009 campus security report showed six burglaries for the year. As of April 8, 2010, thieves have burglarized 10 cars by shattering their windows, said Security Director Felisa Barnes.
“This was the most car burglaries we ever encountered in one month of March,” she said. “It’s seasonal. It’s always at the beginning of the spring and fall semesters.”
Although GPS devices, iPods and laptops left in plain sight are easy targets, Barnes said the thieves are specifically breaking into vehicles with intentions of stealing the stereo.
“One student had money in her car, and the money was not touched,” Barnes said. “Their main focus is to get your CD player, but if you have an iPod or laptop lying out in your seat, it won’t take but a second to get that.”
It also only takes seconds for thieves to smash a car’s window and ransack valuables, Barnes said.
A.J. Fenton, senior theater major, knows firsthand how fast thieves can make off with stolen goods. The most recent victim of the burglaries, it took less than an hour from the time she parked, with security guards present, to the time she got back for thieves to rip off her truck’s stereo.
“I took the precautions the e-mail said, so I honestly don’t know what to say,” she said, referring to an e-mail sent last month by the university warning students of the break-ins. “Nothing was visible when you looked in the window.”
Fenton said she’s disturbed that her stereo’s removable face plate was stolen even though she hid it.
“It means they got lucky when they broke in or they were watching me hide it,” she said.
Wesleyan security guards told Fenton the thieves probably blend in as students. She also said they probably know the class schedule and watch security because of how fast they work.
“I think saying security cameras aren’t in our budget is a bunch of crock,” Fenton said.
“They’re going to need to find a way to put it in the budget or someone’s eventually going to get hurt after a confrontation trying to protect their belongings.”
Robert Tutt, freshman liberal studies major, said the thieves know what they’re doing, which requires more vigilance on security’s part.
“Security is predictable in their laziness,” he said. “They need to be out and about.”
Fort Worth police officer Steve Jackson has recently made rounds on his bike throughout campus checking vehicles and leaving notes if the vehicle is vulnerable to a break-in.
“Hiding your property is absolutely the most important factor,” he said. “I see bags, golf clubs, GPS devices—put them in your trunk or take them with you. The thieves, that’s what they’re looking for.”
Barnes said Fort Worth Police made an arrest concerning burglaries earlier in the semester.
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