Two burglaries on South Campus were reported to the Department of Public Safety during Spring Break — a difference from Winter Break when no South apartments were reported burglarized.

Both burglaries were reported to DPS on March 11 and remain open. The first burglary occurred at 211 Lambreth Lane on March 11 between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m., and the second occurred at 420 Chinook Drive on March 11 at 11:30 a.m., according to DPS daily crime logs.

The two burglaries happened at the apartments of students who remained on South Campus instead of going home, said DPS Chief Tony Callisto. A significant number of students stay in Syracuse during Spring Break, whereas only a few students stay in Syracuse and remain living in South Campus apartments during Winter Break, he said.

Both apartments had their doors unlocked, allowing the suspect to go in and steal property, Callisto said.

‘This continues to be a challenge for us to really get the word out to people to remind them to keep their doors locked,’ Callisto said. ‘At this point, we’re still investigating. We’re unsure if this involves student-on-student crime or if this is someone that wandered off of the city streets onto the South Campus area.’

Despite the two burglaries on South Campus during the break, Callisto said there has been a decrease in the number of incidents occurring during breaks this year.

‘It appears that this is a pretty minimal amount of crime to occur over break when folks typically know that the students are away,’ he said.

Although no burglaries occurred on South Campus during Winter Break, four burglaries happened on South during Thanksgiving break in November.

On Feb. 28, the Office of Residence Life sent an email to South Campus residents alerting them of three burglaries that occurred on South in the early morning hours of Feb. 27. The email reminded students to lock their apartment doors, put the dowel in the sliding door safety track and close the rear curtains before leaving for Spring Break.

Callisto said the awareness of students is critical in preventing these types of crimes from occurring.

Similar to Winter Break, DPS increased patrols on South Campus and regularly checked buildings to make sure doors were locked during Spring Break, Callisto said.

On March 9 before the break, DPS officers and ORL officials talked to South Campus residents and gave them pamphlets to remind them to lock their doors and pull the curtains shut before departing for the break, according to an article published in The Daily Orange on March 10.

Callisto said students typically report crime on the Monday they return from break. Students had reported no further crime to DPS as of 4:50 p.m. Monday, he said in an email.

DPS typically sees an increase in offenses — whether they are crime or minor violations — once students return to campus following Spring Break, he said.

Said Callisto: ‘There’s better weather, there’s more outside activity, there’s more opportunities to be away from apartments, and certainly we’re going to find that there may be some level of increase in crime.’

Here’s a breakdown of other crime that occurred during Spring Break:

· A strong-arm robbery occurred at 912 Lancaster Ave. on March 13 between 8:15 p.m. and 8:20 p.m., according to DPS crime logs. It happened near the Lancaster Market and involved no Syracuse University students or faculty, Callisto said. He said a citizen in the neighborhood was threatened for property before the property was taken. DPS responded to the scene and assisted the Syracuse Police Department, Callisto said. The case remains open.

· DPS is continuing the investigation into a larceny that occurred on March 8 in E.S. Bird Library. Callisto said a student had a laptop stolen after leaving it unattended to go to the restroom. DPS is in the middle of the investigation and believes another student committed the crime, he said.

jdharr04@syr.edu

 

Published on March 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Jon: jdharr04@syr.edu