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By Kyle Webster
Staff Reporter
Since Sept. 1, 18 cars have been broken into at the University of Maine. In addition to this, multiple other cars have, in some form or another, been vandalized. Windows have been smashed in, paneling bent, dents made and license plates have been removed. Altogether, more than $2000 in damage has been done to vehicles parked in University of Maine lots.
Burglary has resulted in thousands of dollars worth of items taken from vehicles, both locked and unlocked. Most of these thefts have involved some form of hi-tech equipment. Amplifiers, CD players, radar detectors, cell phones and stereo systems have been among the property taken. More than $5000 worth of items have been stolen in less than two months.
The burglaries and break-ins have not been isolated to just one area of campus. Although the bulk have occurred in the Steam Plant parking lot and the Orchard parking lot, others have occurred in the Hilltop parking areas, the Deering parking lot and the Stodder parking lot, among others.
Public Safety representatives said the first few months of school are normally when car and bike thefts are highest.
But keeping your car safer is possible. Deborah Mitchell, crime prevention officer for UMaine Public Safety, has a few suggestions. First, cars should always remain locked. At least three of the burglaries that occurred happened to unlocked cars. When a valuable is sitting on the front seat and the door is unlocked, it takes a burglar no time at all to grab the item and run.
If you own an expensive stereo system, you should invest in a car alarm as well, Mitchell said. While alarms are expensive, people who can afford a system should be willing to buy an alarm.
Advertisement of your system is also discouraged. Decals on the windows tell a potential burglar exactly what they will find inside, thus giving the burglar more incentive to get it. Also, consider installing your CD player in the trunk, out of view. Speakers should be bolted to the floor.
“Thieves love to smash and run, make it a little harder for them,” Mitchell said.
Always park in well-lit areas with your valuables out of view.
Public Safety is working to prevent vehicle and property thefts and to stop those who do it. If anyone has any information regarding the thefts that have occurred, or if anyone has seen any suspicious activity in parking areas, they are encouraged to call Public Safety at 581-4040.
Bangor Daily News