Monday, March 3, 1986/The Battalion/Page 5 ms that k een the« and non [ make lit | how « i,” Knoe| he prop-, want lok close th: ompteds ELINC MS iy- Ur X i ■ 150 years of Texas Theft at A&M Students urged to reduce thieves' chances By KIM ROY Reporter Students must take precautions to protect themselves and their prop erty against theft, says Elmer E. Schneider, University Police chief. “It takes three things for a crime to occur: The thief must have the ability, the desire and the opportuni ty,” Schneider says. While nothing can be done about a thiefs ability or desire, students can remove, or at least reduce, a thiefs opportunities, he says. Schneider says there’s been an outbreak of burglaries in the dormi tories, especially in the Commons area. He says the burglar enters un locked aorm rooms in the early morning or late night hours, and primarily takes cash and jewelry. Schneider says students must lock their doors. “We haven’t had a forced entry,” he says. Schneider says $178,068 in state and private property has been re ported stolen since the fall semester oegan. He says only $30,626 — 17 percent — has been recovered, he says. He says no one has been harmed yet, but there could be a problem if a student corners the thief in a dorm room. Tom Murray, assistant director for student affairs, says, “The whole problem,in my mind, is students will not lock their doors.” The dorms’ outside doors are locked after visiting hours, but Mur ray says some women thwart security efforts by propping open the outside doors after visiting hours. Residents are given a key to the outside doors, but many women don’t like to carry them, so the doors are propp>ed open, Murray says. Some outside doors have push button codes instead of keys. Murray says the combinations are changed several times each year, but the com binations easily oecome common knowledge. Murray says the best his office can do is make students aware of the crime statistics on campus and give tips on how students can protect themselves. Jan Winniford, assistant director of student affairs, says the dorms are divided into four geographic areas: the Commons area, the Corps area, the Central area and the North area. Each area has two full-time assis tant area coordinators who have been generating new ideas on how to make students more aware of crime prevention, she says. Murray says the Corps of Cadets may begin issuing demerits for leav ing unattended rooms unlocked. Murray says in the future, a stu dent who loses his key and doesn’t find it within 14 days will have to pay for a new lock. Currently, a student has the choice of whether or not to have the locks changed when keys are lost, Murray says. Monica Christen, assistant area coordinator for the North area, says her area has developed new posters as a result of the recent outbreak of thefts. She says a memo will be sent to the students calling attention to the crimes and asking for new ideas on security and crime prevention. Schneider says he has special secu rity plans for spring break. He says students should lock their rooms when they leave. As soon as the students are gone, his officers will check every dorm room to make sure everything is locked and secure, he says. March 8 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Memorial Student Center Featuring: The Executives l-tex Bobolinks 5-8 p.m. 7-11 p.m. 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Carnival Booths • Dancing • Hayrides Contests & Prizes • BBQ Cafe Concert Series proudly presents THE ^TEXAS