Thefts on campus have been on the rise toward the end of the semester.
Three incidents of debit cards being taken have been reported to the police department from the campus community. At least one of the cards was used in Ottawa.
Residence Life has trained its Resident Assistants to be prepared for the situation and the correct protocol to handling it.
Casey Wieder has been an RA for two years and says there is a specific procedure to follow.
“If someone reports something missing, we write an incident report,” Wieder said. “We fill that out and turn it in to Lisa Thomsen in the Student Life Office.”
Junior Whitney Bowen adds that sometimes there needs to be immediate action.
“We are to call security in as well as filling out the incident report,” Bowen said.
Lizzie Wilkens also has been working behind the desks in the dorms for two years. She says the incident reports help maintain information.
“The report usually contains information such as what’s missing, when it might have been taken and any other important information they know,” Wilkens said.
“After it goes to Taldo, Lisa or an RD, they can note if the incident occurred during a specific time frame then they can go back and look at the security tapes of that building.”
Wieder notes that it is important for him to take the extra step with his residents.
“I have also had students in the past who have wanted to call security or file an report with the police, so I help in any way possible and contact those two groups,” Wieder said.
All RAs agreed that the easiest way to prevent a theft is to lock your doors.
“I would recommend residents to lock their doors whether you’re going to be gone for five minutes or five hours,” Wieder said. “Also, if you think that your roommate is stealing from you, don’t go making accusations, find an RA and we will contact the proper authorities so that the incident doesn’t get out of hand.”
Wilkens agreed adding that valuables shouldn’t be left out either.
“To prevent things being stolen, I would recommend just locking their room,” Wilkens said.
“It’s the simplest thing they can do to prevent this from happening. Another action they could take is to not leave valuables just sitting out around their room, some people might view that as an invitation to take it,” Wilkens said.