Campus Watch: Below is a summary of campus activity reported to or observed by The University Police Department Patrol Officers between Wednesday, 10/29/14 and Thursday, 10/30/14. Halloween Safety & Crime Prevention Tips I am confident many of you know the old Halloween safety and crime prevention tips – wear reflective costumes, carry a flashlight, only use facsimile weapons that look fake, don’t eat your treats until you get home and inspect the delectable foil covered morsel, trick-or-treat in neighborhoods where you know the residents (this is great for community building as well), use face make-up instead of masks as make-up is more comfortable and does not interfere with your vision, have a set trick-or-treating time for the kids so they know when to be home – for that matter, get out of the house and go with them - make sure your tricks do not violate any laws etc, etc, etc. All of these are great tips, but keep some other things in mind as you gear you and your family up for a night of freight. As a property owner, make sure your lawn, driveway and sidewalk are clear of debris and lawn overgrowth. Keep your porch light on as long as you are dispensing the trick repellant treats. Before your masked guests arrive, take a few minutes to move items like your bicycle into your garage, house or backyard – this stops advertising to the more devious tricksters who may want to return later for the purpose of stuffing your property into their bag of treats. For more great tips, tricks and prevention treats, spend a little time doing an on-line search for Halloween safety tips and Halloween crime prevention tips. The college aged ghosts and goblins may seek out a different type of spirit – just that spirits. Holidays are always a dangerous time for alcohol consumption. Halloween is perhaps one of the most dangerous days for college students as it is a day when students want to leave the drudgery of their college life behind to seek out the anonymity found behind a mask. Halloween is a day when students want to be someone else and try new things - to have fun. Such atmospheres lend themselves to overindulgence and as I have experienced the last 20 years, overindulgence with alcohol frequently does not end well. With this in mind, students – I implore you to know your limits, make a plan today to keep from overdoing it tomorrow night. Know and keep your limits – one easy way to do this is to only bring the amount of money for the amount of drinks you know you can handle. Bring a sober friend with you – they are out there and I assure you they too will have fun being sober tonight. Don’t drive to your location. If you don’t drive to your trick-or-treating haunt then you can’t drive back home. Take a cab or the e-bus. Take a second to read the last line of the first paragraph - make sure your tricks do not violate any laws; and above all – Be safe! INTRAMURAL FIELDS, 4901 Guadalupe Criminal Trespass Warning / Assist Outside Agency: A non-UT subject was reported as sleeping on the soccer fields. The responding officer found the subject curled up in a sleeping bag fast asleep. When awakened, the subject stated he was just “taking a nap.” The subject was found to have an outstanding outside agency arrest warrant for Theft of Service. In addition to other law enforcement action taken, the subject was also issued a written criminal trespass warning. Occurred on 10/29/14 at 11:24 AM. JESTER EAST, 201 East 21st Street Theft: A grey Scattane road bike was stolen while it was secured with a u-lock to a bicycle rack located on the west side of the dormitory. Loss value: $300.00. Occurred between 10/27/14 at 12 noon and 10/28/14 at 11:00 AM. Crime Prevention Tip: While a quality u-lock is our minimum recommendation for bicycle security, every now and then a thief comes along who is proficient at defeating u-locks. That is yet another reason to consider our maximum recommendation. Use two different types of locks. A quality u-lock and a cable lock. This forces a thief to carry two tools and spend twice as much time defeating locks to commit the theft. Most thieves aren’t that dedicated and will move on to a bike that has just one lock. 600 East Martin Luther King Public Intoxication: A patrolling UT officer observed a non-UT subject seated on the curb next to an empty half-gallon bottle of Vodka. Curious to know what happened to the contents of the bottle, the officer stopped and spoke with the subject. The location of the missing vodka became clear when the subject stood up claiming he could walk and promptly stumbled into the roadway. The subject was found to be under the influence of an intoxicating substance to the point he was deemed to be a danger to himself. Occurred on 10/29/14 at 10:50 AM. The University of Texas Police Department responded to 19 Alarm Reports, 1 Fire Alarm Activation, 1 “Police Help” Callbox Activation, 7 Suspicious Activity Reports, 5 Traffic Violations, 3 Unsecured Door Reports, 1 Welfare Concern Report, 1 Medical Emergency Report, 1 Found Property and 10 Public Assist Report between 10/29/14 and 10/30/14. Prepared by: Ofc. WR π/ To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit http://www.utexas.edu/police/campuswatch/subscribe.php/
