A recent alert on the Bucks
Security and Safety webpage
(www.bucks.edu/security) is
warning students not to leave
their possessions in unlocked
lockers.
This issue has been a topic of
recent discussion because three
Bucks students have had their
valuables taken from the men’s
locker room in the gym since
Feb. 8.
And more recently, on March
4, a student’s laptop and mp3
player were stolen from their
locker. However, this time the
student used a lock but because
of the lock’s poor quality, it
was easily opened.
The Security and Safety
office wants to make sure that
students are using high-quality
locks from reputable manufacturers
so that this won’t
become a recurring theme.
Mark Moore, assistant director
of Security and Safety,
talked about this issue in more
depth, and how students can
keep their valuables safe and
secure.
A previous article in the
Centurion reported that
iPhones have been recently targeted
by thieves, but anything
can be stolen. In some cases
iPods or cell phones have been
taken, and other times backpacks
and purses were
snatched.
This is not a case where the
thief is taking from the rich and
giving to the poor; cell phones
and iPods can be sold for hundreds
of dollars to interested
buyers, resulting in high profits
for the criminal.
Moore said there have been
up to 20 thefts over the last
year, and just this semester
alone there have been at least
six thefts already.
Asked why theft was
becoming such a major issue
on the campus, Moore said,
“people don’t report it.”
The fact is that if a student
has had valuables stolen, then
neglect to report it to the security
office, the criminal gets
away unscathed.
Moore said that last semester
cars in parking lots were the
targets of many thefts, but
these days it seems to be the
locker rooms.
“It goes in cycles,” says
Moore. In the parking lots, cars
were being broken into
because valuables were in
plain sight. Moore warned students
not to leave valuables in
open sight; it just gives the
criminal more initiative to steal
belongings.
The players on the soccer
team, including the author of
this article, had cash or jewelry
taken from their cars after one
practice, so the team informed
the coach.
Moore said that security
eventually caught several perpetrators
when they observed
them opening car doors, but
other cases have gone
unsolved.
Moore warned students not
to leave their bags unattended,
especially in the library and
classrooms. Criminals have
been known to grab wallets,
take the cash out, then throw
the wallet into the trash.
Moore said that if need be,
custodians of the college and
the Newtown Police
Department can collaborate to
find the culprits and the missing
valuables.
Campus Safety and Security
is reaching out to students who
have had possessions stolen,
asking them to report such
thefts so they can be prevented
from happening again.
The Safety and Security
office knows that this is a
major problem at the campus
and they will take the proper
precautions to try and keep this
from happening whenever
possible.
The security website has
safety alerts, and there are
posters and flyers around campus
that inform the student
body about the safety of themselves
and their possessions.
It is up to us as victims and
students at the college to report
a theft as soon as it happens.

If anyone has information
on these crimes, please go
to
www.bucks.edu/security.
You can leave an anonymous
tip on the webpage.