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Thieves look for easy targets on college campuses

Emergency phones are located throughout the University of Dayton campus, allowing students to quickly contact authorities.

Ty Greenlees/Staff Emergency phones are located throughout the University of Dayton campus, allowing students to quickly contact authorities.

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By Christopher Magan, Staff Writer Updated 11:23 PM Sunday, November 7, 2010

DAYTON — Public safety officials at area colleges and universities say students can take simple steps to avoid becoming the victims of criminals who come to campus looking for an easy target.

The majority of campus crimes are committed by non-students who come to campus looking for an opportunity, according to police chiefs at Wright State University, Sinclair Community College and the University of Dayton.

“Our largest challenge is managing the guests that come to campus,” said Michael Martinsen, WSU police chief.

A string of six robberies in 2008 are a good example of how some criminals see college campuses as easy targets, Martinsen said. Two groups, one from Cincinnati and another from Dayton, were eventually jailed for the crimes. WSU police work closely with residence hall advisors and students to “make sure everyone embraces the safety mind set,” Martinsen said.

But those robberies are not the typical campus crimes. Only a handful of serious violent offenses occur on local campuses each year.

The biggest challenge, public safety officials say, is getting students to look after and protect their own property. Both UD and Sinclair have seen a rise in property crime this year.

Most burglaries that occur on the UD campus are not the typical breaking and entering most people would imagine, said Bruce Burt, UD police chief. Instead they often occur at unlocked residences or during parties when homes are open to strangers who come and go.

Sinclair has a similar problem, just under different circumstances. Instead of unlocked structures, most thefts there involve unattended property, said Chief Charles Gift. A student walks away from a backpack or laptop for a minute and returns to find it gone.

Area schools’ police chiefs believe most of these crimes are preventable if students would follow a few simple guidelines like locking doors, securing belongings and being aware of their surroundings.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2342 or cmagan@Dayton DailyNews.com.

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