Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Winter break leaves U. Texas campus area vulnerable to theft
By Michelle West
Daily Texan (U. Texas)
12/13/2006

(U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas — During the winter break, University of Texas mechanical engineering freshman Raul Sanchez will be taking about half his possessions from his Riverside, Texas, apartment and housing them at a friend's house in Killeen, Texas, while he visits family stationed in Germany.

"Just in case," he said.

Sanchez's precautions reflect recommendations from University and Austin, Texas, police to students during the winter break. Apartments and vehicles parked in student-dense areas are susceptible to break-ins and thefts if they are left unattended for long periods of time, Austin and UT Police Department spokeswomen said.

"It is a well-known fact that student apartments are pretty much vacant during Christmas holidays," Sanchez said. He said he's heard of people having their apartments broken into during breaks and he was just taking precautions.

The UT Police Department offers students anti-theft tools for free year-round. The department offers light timers to give the impression of someone being inside an apartment and engravers, which can be used to engrave a driver's license number on valuables making them easier to retrieve in the event of theft. UTPD crime prevention inspector Layne Smith also recommends leaving a radio tuned to a talk radio station.

Both police departments recommend students take valuables out of vehicles, including the trunks, and cover up car stereos.

Even loose change left in a cup holder can be a liability in terms of theft, Smith said.

"We've had vehicles broken into where 75 cents worth of change is taken," she said.

APD spokeswoman Laura Albrecht said during the holidays people are likely to leave recently purchased or wrapped gifts in their cars while shopping or getting ready for the drive home.

"A lot of times, especially during the holiday season, you're putting your packages in your car before you leave for the next morning," Albrecht said. "Well, we don't recommend that you do that. I think you want the intended recipient to unwrap that rather than some stranger that's broken in to your car."

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