Car thefts already equal last year’s totals

So far this semester five cars have been stolen from CSU, as

many as all of last year’s auto thefts combined.

“For one semester we’ve had what we had all of last year,” said

Joan Williams, records keeper for CSU Police Department.

As the numbers of car thefts increase, some students are left

wondering how to prevent theft auto theft on campus.

Although many times car theft is attributed to owner negligence,

CSUPD claims the thefts this year aren’t from students just leaving

their car doors unlocked.

“Only one was unlocked,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of

forceful entry.”

Many car stereos have also been stolen recently and there has

been a lot of vandalism that may have been unsuccessful car theft

attempts, said Capt. Bob Chaffee of the CSUPD.

Most of the car thefts are occurring on the south side of campus

near Ingersoll Hall and Moby Arena.

Senior Lindsey Green had her locked car broken into across the

street from Moby in her apartment parking lot.

“They broke my window and took my stereo,” Green said. “I don’t

really keep anything valuable in my car so that’s really all there

was in there.”

Fort Collins wasn’t a place that Green, a San Diego native,

thought she would be a victim of theft.

“Fort Collins is a really family-oriented community. I would

never believe someone would do that around here,” Green said. “It

seems like too small of a community.”

Green never reported the break-in to police, but she has taken

more precaution with her car ever since the incident.

“I’m more careful about locking my doors,” Green said. “I’m just

more aware of my surroundings.”

There are no suspects in the thefts.

“No right now we don’t have any suspects,” Chaffee said. “We are

aware of the problem and striving to take aggressive steps to get

the problem corrected.”

Parking in a well-lit areas, locking doors, not leaving

valuables in view and reporting suspicious activity are all ways

students can improve their odds against auto theft on campus,

according to www.mtholyoke.edu.

Chaffee agrees student cooperation could aid police in

preventing and solving auto theft cases.

“If you see anything give us a call,” Chaffee said. “We’re

working very hard at the problem and the investigation.”