While the summer may not be the most crowded time of the year on campus, and crime may not be flourishing around RWC, first year UC Police Officer Jeff Polly noticed a big red flag right away this past summer. With no cameras in the parking lot, theft from parked cars might not be as difficult as you might think. For those who drive to campus, automobiles are the perfect opportunity for an easy crime. Officer Polly noticed a number of cars with backpacks, iPods, wallets, and many other valuables just sitting out in plain sight in parked cars, basically waiting to be taken.
Rather than taking a few seconds to put those valuables away, which can take all of ten seconds, some people apparently just assume “I’ll be back in fifty minutes. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Usually while classes are going on, Officer Polly is out riding his bike, patrolling the parking lot. But when Polly notices valuables in a car he writes a little note and sticks it on the windshield as a reminder to put things away. The note is great, but it also notifies want-to-be crooks.
Polly is hoping that students will take that small extra time to stow valuables, because, after someone takes them, it’s not as easy to retrieve them. You’ll have to call the police, wait for them to respond, gather your police report, have them write the report, and then patiently wait five business days, calling the police again so you can give your insurance company the report, to fix your window that never would have been broken had you taken an extra ten seconds or so to put your valuables in the glove box or under the seat. So please fellow students, remember to put any valuables in your car out of plain eyesight.