At least 14 cases of theft have been reported since last week at the Student Recreation Center.
Molly Kennedy, spokesperson for the University’s Department of Physical Education and Recreation, said beginning on April 16, the thefts were reported by people who left their personal items in areas that are not secure, such as the locker room or other locked areas around the rec center. @@http://perec.uoregon.edu/personnel.html@@
“We have no problem blowing the whistle on ourselves,” Kennedy said. “We want people’s stuff to be safe when they are here to work out.”
She said that people who go to play basketball in any of the indoor courts, who play on the turf fields outside, or who go to the weight room should rent a combination lock provided by the rec center. Kennedy believes that people are coming into the rec center with the intent of grabbing bags, keys or other valuable items left out and exiting through one of the many rec center exits.
“Now that people are carrying around expensive items, such as laptops, iPads and iPods, and leaving them in open areas, a thief could come in and grab a bag with the high likelihood that the bag has something valuable,” Kennedy said.
There was one instance where a person allegedly stole approximately 10 pairs of keys and walked around pressing the unlock button on car remotes in University parking lots. The person got into one car, stole all the items in it — including a laptop — and left the keys on the seat. The other keys were dropped around campus, Kennedy said.
University freshman Jordan Matlock uses the open-air cubbies across from the from the rec center’s rock wall. But, she said she holds her iPhone with her when she’s working out and only leaves schoolbooks in her backpack. @@http://www.uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Jordan*Matlock@@
“I wouldn’t ever leave my valuables in there (the cubbies),” Matlock said.
Since there has been an increase in thefts, Kennedy said that the rec center has taken out one set of cubbies. By the end of the term, she said small lockers will be installed in the rec center for students to store electronics.
“It’s a much worse thing to go through losing your possessions that you count on than it is to go through renting a lock,” said Kelly McIver, Department of Public Safety spokesperson. McIver urged anyone who has had their personal property stolen from the rec center to report it both to the front desk at the rec center and DPS. @@http://police.uoregon.edu/contacts@@
“Right now, we don’t have any leads,” Kennedy said. “That’s why we’re urging people who have their stuff stolen to report — we want to stop this.”