This summer senior Emily Temple woke up and found her car missing from Dayton Avenue. She parked her car directly in front of her house and locked it the night before.
“I walked outside, and my car wasn’t where I parked it,” Temple said. “I walked up and down the street looking for it, and then I started freaking out.”
Temple reported the incident to the police the next morning. Later, the police found her car totaled in a parking lot in Minneapolis.
“They found it completely stripped,” Temple said. “The wheels were gone, the seats were gone, the radio deck was gone, the entire outside body of the car was gone. It was just the skeleton left of the car.”
St. Thomas students, faculty and alumni reported more car and bike thefts around campus last summer than in the summer of 2010.
Michael Barrett, Public Safety associate director, said that the nicer weather might be a factor.
“That’s when the bad guys are out and about,” Barrett said.
Thieves scope out areas where people place their valuables, Barrett said. Their common techniques include smashing car windows and stealing “snatch-and-grab items” such as purses, cash and GPS devices, he added.
This summer six vehicle thefts were reported, compared to five in the summer of 2010.
Temple said she now takes extra safety precautions.
“I’m so much more careful about making sure of leaving nothing in my car and there’s nothing at all that looks even tempting,” she said.
Barrett echoed Emily’s suggestion.
“It’s best not to leave anything of value in your car,” Barrett said. “Be aware that you may be watched if you put something under your seat, in a glove box or in your trunk.”
Bike theft
Barrett said thieves use bolt cutters to cut through bicycle locks. He suggests buying U-locks instead of cable locks because they are more durable. Twelve secured bikes were reported stolen this summer, compared to six in the summer of 2010.
“Buy a lock that costs more than the bike,” he said.
Some students prefer the cable lock because of its flexibility. Sophomore Joseph Spitzer does not use the U-lock because “it’s small, and it doesn’t fit the bike in all circumstances.”
After using a Cavalier chain lock that was “supposedly indestructible,” sophomore Michael Burke recently had his bicycle stolen.
“I left it out by the Ireland (Residence Hall) bike rack, and I must not of put the lock on tight enough,” he said. “Then it was gone.”
With the new school year underway, Barrett said it is important to be reminded of general safety precautions. He suggests corresponding with officials quickly after a suspicious incident.
Jessica Doffing and Ashley Stewart contributed to this report.