University junior Alex Crane left his West University home headed to campus like any typical student during the first week of spring term. Because the incessant Eugene rain was exceptionally fierce that morning, Crane decided he would drive his Jeep Liberty to class and forgo the traditional drenching walk many students endure on a daily basis. @@http://www.uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Alex*Crane@@
As he approached his car, he noticed something — his passenger-side door was open, his belongings scattered about the vehicle.
“Whoever it was literally took all the contents of my middle console and tossed them all over the car,” Crane said.
Luckily, Crane had nothing of value taken from his vehicle that day. But this was not the only time he had experienced an intrusion on his personal property.
“My longboard is gone, and has been since fall term. Someone broke in and stole it,” Crane said. The exploitation of Crane’s vehicle brought up the all-to-familiar notion that leaving valuables in vehicles can end in a horrible way.
Crane is not the only individual who has recently suffered from vehicle-related thefts in local campus neighborhoods.
On June 1, the Eugene Police Department announced they had achieved a milestone in the campaign to combat vehicle thefts in the campus area.
In a press release EPD announced, “Two juveniles were caught by officers as they were looking through a vehicle and were arrested on multiple counts of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle.”
The perpetrators admitted to going through more than thirty vehicles in the South University Neighborhood.
DPS Public Information Officer Kelly McIver said that these types of break-ins occur in places with characteristics that match those of off-campus neighborhoods. @@http://police.uoregon.edu/content/uodps-adds-staff-aid-police-transition@@
“Areas which are not well-lit late at night, along with areas which are not patrolled often are usually places where these incidents happen,” McIver said.
McIver said that vehicle-related crimes are crimes of opportunity. Parking under streetlights late at night, and even purchasing a car steering-wheel lock, commonly known as a club, were helpful tips given by McIver in revolving this issue.
“Thieves will choose an easier target every time. If your car looks more difficult to break into than the next one, they will more often than not bypass your vehicle,” McIver said.