I am a Eugene Police Detective who is assigned to the Property Crimes Unit. I am assigned the SW quadrant of the city; which includes the University.
A significant portion of my time is spent studying crime reports. Property crimes include all types of theft, burglary and mischief. Of these categories, theft is by far the most significant crime around campus. Bike theft is a reoccurring theme, as well as thefts of property from cars and of course the theft of backpacks from the Knight Library.
Whenever questions come up about bike thefts, we stress the importance of writing down the serial number and registering the bike with the Department of Public Safety. It may not be common knowledge, but many stolen bikes are recovered, but they are sold at auction because the owner cannot be identified.
I recently made some friends who were glad they registered their bike. When it comes to thefts from vehicles, most report they had locked the doors, so that is not enough to deter a thief in itself. The best way is simply not to leave anything of value in your car.
Some of us are reluctant to give a dollar to a hungry, homeless panhandler, but we routinely donate thousands of dollars to methamphetamine addicts. Besides the CDs, we donate wallets, purses, cameras, musical equipment and athletic gear. These items should not be left on display in your car where a thin piece of glass is the only security you have. These things I’ve mentioned are the usual and most typical types of thefts.
Something you may not think about that is a huge problem is the theft of text books. Books are expensive, but if you take care of your books, you can sometimes sell them back and get a fair amount. Unfortunately, the crooks know this also. Books actually hold a higher resale value than most other types of property.
Many of you know that as soon as your books are stolen, you go to the University Bookstore or to Smith’s to report the books were stolen. Sometimes you even report them to the police or DPS — but sometimes you don’t. If the book is sold by the thief, that constitutes a new offense and is automatically a felony crime.
The area bookstores are very good about documenting the seller and are required to obtain identification. All that’s left is linking a stolen book to the person it was stolen from. To this end, I want to remind you of some ways to help us do that. Many people can identify their books by markings they put in the book. I suggest using your driver’s license number somewhere within the book. Any police officer can run a driver’s license number and get a name and address immediately. If you choose to go with the driver’s license number, it is important to identify it as such. Use the following format, OR 123456 DL … I suggest the number be written on a secret page number near the binder.
These thefts occur daily, and in an area as small as the University, there is a good chance that it will eventually happen to you. Keep that in mind and do what you can to safeguard your property.

Detective Greg Calef

Eugene Police Department