Campus Watch: Below is a summary of campus activity reported to or observed by the University Police Department patrol officers between Wednesday, 01/20/10, and Thursday, 01/21/10 BRACKENRIDGE APARTMENTS, 3500 Lake Austin Blvd Theft: A child's blue Razer scooter was reported stolen after it was left unsecured outside an apartment over night. Loss value: $40.00. Occurred between: 1-17-10 at 6:00 PM and 1-18-10, at 8:30 AM. BRAZOS PARKING GARAGE, 200 Martin Luther King Blvd. Possession of Marijuana / Possession of Drug Paraphernalia: A UT police officer observed three UT students sitting side-by-side. As the officer approached the subjects, he detected the odor of burning marijuana wafting in the area. The officer stepped in front of the students and saw the middle subject holding a 7-inch colored glass pipe with a green leafy substance in the pipe's bowl along with a clear plastic baggy laying at his feet. The same green leafy substance was inside the bag. The middle subject was taken into custody for Possession of Marijuana he invoked his 5th Amendment Right and did not say where he had gotten the marijuana. As the investigation continued, the student sitting to the left had not heard where the marijuana had come from. And yes the 3rd subject sitting to the right had not seen it. All three students were referred to the Dean of Student's Office. Occurred on: 1-21-10, at 1:01 AM. Crime Prevention Tip: Evil? Not evil? This incident can and will have an impact on these students future at UT. GOLDSMITH HALL, #5 West Mall Burglary: A UT faculty member discovered his Dell laptop computer had been stolen. The officer learned the faculty member would typically open his office window and had forgotten to close it during the Holiday Break. Loss value: $500.00. Occurred between: 1-15-10 and 1-18-10. GREGORY GYM, 2101 Speedway Theft (2 Counts): Two UT students reported a blue Jan Sport backpack containing both student's personal property had been stolen after being left unattended next to a basketball court located on the third floor of the gym. The officer learned the backpack contained a black leather wallet, $40.00 in cash, two Blackberry cellular telephones, various credit and debit cards and personal identification. Neither student saw anyone suspicious hanging around their property. Total loss value: $273.00. Occurred on: 1-20-10, between 9:30 PM and 10:30 PM. Crime Prevention Tip: Over the years staff members at Rec Sports have worked with the University Police Department to solve this opportunistic crime problem and reduce the number of thefts inside GRE. Students continue to refuse to utilize the day use lockers that are provided inside all of the lockers rooms. For a thief to be a successful that thief needs to have three things to fall into place…desire, ability and the opportunity to commit a theft. In this case there was one individual whose actions affected two UT students, but the inactions of two students allowed a thief to have a successful night. KINSOLVING DORMITORY, 2605 Whitis Ave Theft: A green colored Trek mountain bicycle was stolen from the bike racks located on the west side of the building after being secured with a simple chain lock. Loss value: $250.00. Occurred between: 12-11-09 and 1-18-10. Crime Prevention Tip: See Rec Sports. REC SPORTS CENTER, 2001 San Jacinto Blvd. Theft: A yellow Schwinn Moad mountain bicycle was stolen from the bike racks located on the west side of the building after being secured with a self-locking cable lock. Loss value: $500.00. Occurred on: 1-20-10, between 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Crime Prevention Tip: Historically there are three times a year at UT when there is a spike in the number of reported stolen bicycles, beginning of the fall and spring semesters and over Spring Break. The vast majority of these stolen bikes, the former owners had attempted to maintain ownership by using a self-locking cable lock. Thieves have a passion for these types of locks since they are very easy to defeat. When securing you bicycle in Austin or on the UT campus consider our recommendation of a two-lock locking system. Utilize a U-shaped lock, (opens with a flat key) and a thick self-locking cable lock. Thieves hate to have to devote more time to steal property. It increases their chance in getting caught. SUTTON HALL, 210 West 21st Street Burglary: A UT staff member discovered 6 Canon digital cameras, 5 Kodak pocket video recorders and an Optoma digital projector had been stolen from a secured 1st floor equipment storage area. Loss value: $1,645.00. Occurred between: 1-15-10 and 1-19-10. TEXAS MEMORIAL MUSEUM, 2400 Trinity Ave. Theft: A UT staff member discovered $65.00 in cash stolen from a secured 2nd floor storage room. During the investigation, the officer learned the money was left inside a bag and the bag was left unsecured on top of a safe. Loss value: $65.00. Occurred between: 1-15-10 and 1-19-10. 2100 BLOCK SAN JACINTO BLVD. Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol by a Minor / Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor / Speeding: A UT police officer saw a blue Mini Cooper exceeding the posted speed limit. During the traffic investigation, the officer detected a very strong odor of alcohol inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The driver, a UT student denied drinking any alcohol, but admitted her passenger had been drinking at a friend's house. The officer administered the Standardized Field Sobriety tests to the driver. The driver did not display enough clues that would have indicated she was intoxicated. Due to the fact the officer detected the odor of alcohol on the driver's breath and the student was under the legal age of 21, she was issued a field release citation for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol by a Minor. As the investigation continued, the officer detected a very strong odor of alcohol on the passenger's breath. The passenger, a UT student admitted he had been drinking but declined to say where. The officer issued the passenger a field release citation for Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor. Both subject where released to a sober friend after the vehicle was impounded. In addition to the law enforcement actions taken the driver received a written warning for Speeding. Occurred on: 1-21-10, at 2:17 AM. Final Crime Prevention Tip of the Day: With the increase in the number of thefts in the last 24 hours and the number of burglaries over the holiday weekend one thing stood out. I did not see in any of the reports where the owners had taken the time to engrave their State issued driver's license or ID number on their property. Inside each of the dormitories, the UT Police Department and the RA Association have placed engravers for the students to check out (Free of Charge) and take the time to mark their property. For the staff and faculty members and those students living off-campus, the UT Police Department has engravers at UPB ready to be checked out to you as well. January 2009 we posted information in the Campus Watch on the 5 most stolen items in 2008 and from what areas of campus the most thefts occurred. Following the tradition: Top 5 locations for theft at UT for 2009 #1 Gregory Gym (Moved from number 5) #2 Perry-Castaneda Library (No change from last year's list) #3 Jester Dormitory (Dropped from number 1) #4 Texas Union (No change from last year's list) #5 Belmont Hall / Ernest Cockrell Hall (tied) (New to this year's list) Top 5 Most Stolen Items on the UT Campus for 2009 Previous Year Item Totals Item Totals Bicycles 132 Bicycles 172 Backpacks / Wallets 126 Credit cards 146 Laptop / Computers 93 Backpacks/ wallets112 Cellular Telephones 81 Cash 89 Credit Cards 50 Laptop/ Computer 87 Total value of stolen property $272,120 $310,343 The above numbers show an overall 9% decrease in crime for 2009. The University of Texas Police Department would like to commend the university community, including the parents, in helping to achieve this significant accomplishment. Now that we know where the thieves are working and what they are going after, as a community, let's continue working together in reducing the crime at UT. If you are interested in finding out what you can do to help further reduce these numbers, contact Officer Pieper at 232-9638 or Officer Halstead at 232-9634. What starts here, does change the world. CAMPUS WIDE: Non-Criminal Calls: In addition to the above criminal cases, the University of Texas Police Department responded to 23 alarm calls, 1 public assist request, 1 collision report, 1 suspicious odor report between 01/19/10 and 01/20/10. Contact UT Police at 471-4441 if you have any information regarding any of the above incidents or call 911 regarding suspicious persons, suspicious activities or crime. Your call may help solve or prevent a crime. Campus Watch comments should be directed to Officer Darrell Halstead at 512-232-9634 or via e-mail to Darrell.halstead@austin.utexas.edu. You may also direct comments to Officer William Pieper at 512-232-9638 or by e-mail at photocop@mail.utexas.edu. Prepared by DWH To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit http://www.utexas.edu/police/campuswatch/subscribe.php
