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Thieves may prey while you're away
By Kelll Rayborn
Special to the Kansan
KU juniors Kristin Fulford and Tina Krup returned from winter break last year to find they had been visited by most unwelcome guests — burglar.
"They took everything," said Krup, Roscoe, Ill. "It was pretty scary."
Several students will be victims to theft during the break. Taking precautions can ensure your belongings are still there when you return.
Fulford, of Palantine, Ill. learned of the crime when she called her roommates from her car phone on the way to Lawrence.
"I just started swearing," she said.
Photo Illustration by Steve Puppe / KANSAN
Krup said the break-in was the second to occur while the women lived in the apartment at 1310 Kentucky St. The first intruders came while Krup was home. She heard someone enter the apartment, but thought it was one of her roommates. Not much was stolen on that occasion.
When it was time to leave the apartment for the holidays, the women took precautions to try to prevent a second break-in.
Despite their efforts, Fulford and Krup estimated that thieves stole $8,000 to $10,000 worth of their belongings, including two VCRs, an entertainment system and Fulford's computer.
"We had our lights on a timer. We had metal poles to block the sliding doors and windows. We had our neighbors picking up our newspapers," Krup said.
For students who want to protect their belongings from burglars when they leave town this winter, Sergeant Chris Keary and Officer Gayle Reece of the KU police department suggest the following measures.
- Check the overall security of your building. Doors should have deadbolts. Windows should be locked. Bushes close to the building should be cut back, and there should be sufficient exterior lighting.
— Use a timer on lights and radios.
security throughout the break, Keary said.
Keep shades closed, and ask a friend or neighbor to pick up mail and newspapers and shovel walks in case of snow.
"If someone can walk around and see that no one is home, all the timers in the world won't help," Reece said.
Students who live in campus housing do not face as much risk of theft as apartment dwellers, Keary said.
Jayhawker Towers and residence halls that remain open have
Because most residence and scholarship halls close for the holiday, Reece suggested that residents who must leave their cars on campus park near Lewis and McCollum Halls, which remain open.
Because not all burglaries can be prevented, Reece and Keary suggested the following measures to help students protect their possessions from thieves.
— Make a list of valuables, including serial numbers. With that information, police can enter stolen items into a national computer, increasing the likelihood that they can be recovered, Keary said.
— Take pictures or video of valuables, if possible. Also, engrave them with a distinctive mark. Keary said that students could borrow engravers for free from KU police and residence halls.
Students also can consider giving a key to a close friend or neighbor who can check on their belongings during the break, but Reece emphasized that students should be careful.
"It should be someone you trust with your life, because that's essentially what you're doing,"
Reece said. "You're entrusting them with all of your possessions, your material life."
Krup suspected that the thieves who broke into her apartment last year had entered with a key.
"It wasn't a forced entry," Krup said. "And they locked the door
for us on their way out."
Krup said she and Fulford had taken steps that made her feel safer about leaving their apartment this winter.
"We got our locks changed. We got a dog," Krup said. "And we live in a new area that's a lot nicer."
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