Police continue to investigate thefts

The Department of Public Safety, in collaboration with the Middlebury Police Department (MPD), is conducting an ongoing investigation into a series of thefts, mostly targeting laptop computers and cell phones, from residence halls and public spaces on campus over the past three weeks.

Though no one has yet been charged for the thefts, evidence has been collected and leads are in development.

Since Jan. 23, four laptops have been reported stolen from Forest Hall, two from Stewart Hall, one from Hepburn Hall, one from Jewett House, one from Proctor Dining Hall and two from the library; cash was also reported stolen from Stewart and Pearsons Hall.

Four cell phones and a jacket were reported missing after the 100 Days Party for the Class of 2010 on Saturday, Feb. 13, which took place in Atwater Dining Hall.

Student property was also reported missing from the general locker rooms at the fitness center on Sunday, Feb. 7. Though some of the property has been recovered, the majority remains unaccounted for.

“Obviously what’s really happening is that students are being victimized, and we don’t know at this point, completely, by whom,” said Lisa Boudah, director of Public Safety.

“We’re getting little bits and pieces … The whole time I’ve worked here, in the past 10 years, we’ve had very few incidents of laptops being stolen, and very few incidents of people entering someone’s room and actually taking stuff. So this is unusual.”

The MPD has taken the lead in many of these cases, working closely with Public Safety and the victims of these incidents to collect evidence and develop leads. Several of the cases of burglary were associated with sightings of suspicious persons around the scene of the incident; in the cases of theft from Stewart and Hepburn, for example, a non-student was cited for unlawful trespass.

Kate Burchenal ’12 was the Hepburn resident who reported her laptop stolen on Tuesday, Feb. 9. She had stepped outside to run an errand, and when she returned to her room both her computer and charger were missing, at which point she notified Public Safety. Like many students, Burchenal kept her door unlocked.

“We never had occasion to lock it before now,” she said.

“I’m sure people just began to realize that it is extremely easy to gain access to any building and that no one locks their doors.”

“They’re sort of crimes of opportunity in the sense that people who manage to get into a residence hall seem to be just wandering around to see what they might find,” said Boudah.

“Because of the low crime and the safe nature of our residence halls, students might think ‘Oh, you know, I don’t need to be that concerned.’ But anytime there starts to be a pattern of … crimes where people live, people need to start paying more attention, being more diligent, locking their doors, paying attention to who’s in the building.”

Boudah called attention to the fact that the crimes have occurred at all hours of the day and night, and that the perpetrators in residence halls seem to be employing a tactic whereby they might knock on a dormitory door and pretend to be looking for a student, or simply open the door and, if a student is inside, claim they had found the wrong room and move on.

The MPD is also looking into leads surrounding the multiple thefts at the 100 Days Party. As Boudah described, one of the phones that was stolen was eventually recovered, and as the thief had placed several calls to various outside numbers, the MPD has begun to use these connections, as well as possible connections in the town of Middlebury, to investigate the cases.

Anna McDonald ’10 was one of the victims of phone theft at the party. When the party ended, she returned to the coat-check room to retrieve her belongings.

“My coat was off the hanger on the floor on the other side of the room with just my cell phone missing,” said Anna McDonald ’1l.

“I found two other people who had their phones taken as well, and we talked to security … It was interesting that only my phone, which was really old, was taken and not my cash, credit cards, or gift certificates that were in the same pocket.”

Public Safety urges students to exercise caution in protecting their belongings in all public spaces, and to continue to be diligent in locking their doors when they leave their rooms.

Both Boudah and Dan Gaiotti, associate director of Public Safety, also emphasized the need for students to report any suspicious persons or suspicious behavior at any time, particularly within residence halls.

“The sooner students can report that, the better, in terms of trying to identify the person,” said Gaiotti.