Posted on April 17, 2008
When some people picture a break-in, images of smashed windows, kicked-in doors and picked locks often come to mind. But, of the break-ins in Harrisonburg’s off-campus student housing, such forced-entry methods are rarely used, according to officer David Puffenbarger of the Harrisonburg Police Department.
“A majority of the time it’s going to be an unlocked window or an unlocked door,” Puffenbarger said. “Roommates rely on roommates to lock doors and doors are always left unlocked.”
In Harrisonburg, student housing is densely populated into small areas off Port Republic Road and South Main Street, which increases their risk to be targeted by criminals.
“When you get that many students in a small amount of space it’s a giant pool of volunteer victims,” said Diane Roll, a crime prevention specialist of the HPD. “There are people inside the community and outside the community that come because they know there are 10,000 college kids.”
When a break-in occurs, items most often stolen are iPods, computers, CD players, digital cameras and other electronic items that can be pawned at high value, said Puffenbarger.
In many cases, items get stolen when off-campus homeowners throw parties and become vulnerable to unfamiliar people entering and leaving throughout the night, according to Roll.
“Often people have had a couple beers and don’t know what apartment is theirs,” Roll said.
Although off-campus students who live in the Port Republic area attract more crime, they can easily prevent break-ins from occurring.
“The people who take the least little bit precaution in locking their doors reduce their risk of being broken into by 100 percent,” Roll said. “Lock the doors, lock the windows, keep lights on and keep porch lights on.”
Another pertinent safety measure is getting to know roommates and friends of roommates.
Students who share housing with people they had not met previously or students who have roommates housing visitors, face a higher risk of having belongings stolen, according to Roll. In these cases, she said how important it is for students to keep their bedroom doors locked.
Off-campus break-ins have been consistent over the years, and have been a problem in Harrisonburg for a long time.
What has altered in the trend of off-campus break-ins is the accessibility of stolen items.
“What’s changing is the size of TVs and having iPods instead of record players,” Roll said. “The crimes are still there, it’s just easier to commit some of them.”
JMU’s Office of Public Safety has issued two “Timely Notifications” concerning reported off-campus break-ins on Dec. 1, 2007 and March 30, 2008.
There have been seven reported incidents since January 2007 of reported break-ins in off-campus housing, including the two reported this semester.
However, many break-ins go unreported because underaged drinking is involved, and victims do not want to risk getting in trouble, Roll said. She added that she does not care less about the underaged drinking because their job is to protect the students.
She stressed the importance of reporting incidents to help members of the Harrisonburg Police Department identify a clear pattern of off-campus break-ins.
Housing areas most susceptible to break-ins are apartments on the ground level near woods. More break-ins are reported from Ashby Crossing and the Devon Lane apartments, where students are packed into smaller spots, than areas off South Main Street where students live in houses, Roll said.
“We’re not here to scare anybody,” Roll said. “Crimes occur mostly because there is an opportunity given.”
