At least six car break-ins have occurred this semester. Police say that the break-ins are generally cyclical and linked to narcotic avtivity. Photo illustration by Jennifer Baldwin&Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin

So far this semester, there have been six auto break-ins on the Emporia State campus. A recent string of auto crimes was linked with a suspect, whose name has not been released.

“There are suspects in multiple cases which are currently under investigation,” said Captain Chris Hoover, campus police and safety. “Several of these are joint investigations with the Emporia Police Department. An arrest was made by EPD with ESU officers assisting. The individuals arrested are suspects in several campus auto burglaries.”

While the recent spike of crime has elevated concern, Field Sergeant Mark Summey of the Emporia Police Department said that the amount of this type of crime does not fall out of usual patterns.

“Car breakins seem to run in cycles,” Summey said. “We’ll get a rash of them, usually it’s tied to narcotic activity, when people need to pay for drugs.”

He also said that it is not abnormal for car breakins and damage to occur in a chain and be linked to a single suspect or group of suspects.

“Usually somebody, or a group of people, will start, and they won’t just break into one car,” Summey said. “They’ll do several.”

Both officers agree that certain measures can be taken to help decrease the risk of a break in, but that it is not completely preventable.

“I don’t know what you can do to stop it, but certainly don’t put things of value in plain view,” Hoover said. “It you go to the bar and you don’t want to haul your purse in, don’t put your purse in the trunk in an obvious way, do that before you leave home.”

Hoover also noted that window tinting can play a factor in theft.

“Dark tint is a bad thing because they can’t see in,” Hoover said. “They assume it means that you’re hiding something of value.”

In addition, people should also think about where they park their car.

“The best thing you can do is just park in well-lighted area,” Summey said. “Don’t park somewhere where it’s real dark and off by itself. That’ll help your door dings, but it will give someone else the opportunity to get into your car.”

Also, consider removing hardware that is built in to the interior of your car.

“If you have a removable face plate on your stereo, remove it when you’re not using it so they can see it’s not there and it won’t do them any good anyway to break into your car,” Summey said. “Try not to advertise that you have something in the car worth stealing.”

Hoover said that unfortunately, it is necessary to make sure that valuable items are not visible, because locks will not deter criminals.

“Locking the car isn’t going to stop someone from breaking in,” Hoover said. “I know cases where they’ve broken windows out of cars that were unlocked because they didn’t stop and take the time to see if it was unlocked. It doesn’t make a lot of sense but that’s kind of the way it is.”

He ensures students that campus policy and safety patrol campus and are aware to look for these sorts of crimes.

“Anything on this campus, we’re there,” Hoover said. “There is no route – it’s 24/7.”

However, Summey said that it is everyone’s responsibility to be on the look out for crime.

“Keep your eyes open and if you see something suspicious report it,” Summey said. “Don’t be afraid to call and report anything you see.”

Sarah Shaw/The Bulletin

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