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Theft at the University of Maine was up in 2009, with increases reported in the Student Recreation and Fitness Center, the Marketplace and the rest of Memorial Union according to UMaine Public Safety.
In 2009, 258 thefts were reported on campus — an increase from 2008 when 208 thefts were reported. Theft at Fogler Library and Hilltop Commons was down, with 10 reported thefts at the library in 2009 and 12 in 2008. Hilltop lost $4,300 worth of dishware in fall 2009, as opposed to $6,300 the previous fall.
Officials from Dining Services, Student Affairs, the Rec Center and Public Safety all said that theft at UMaine is a “crime of opportunity.”
Police Chief Noel March said the declining state of the economy also played a role in increasing incidents of theft in 2009.
“We’re finding that in all jurisdictions, theft is on the increase in Maine,” March said. “Our campus community will reflect the community at large in that respect.”
March identified the Rec Center as the No. 1 hotspot for theft at UMaine. Thirty-one thefts were reported at the Rec Center in 2009 — more than double the number reported in 2008. He said the most valuable items stolen on campus were bicycles and wallets. Officials at the Rec Center said iPods were also stolen.
Officials at the Rec Center said that while there are security cameras in the facility, police records indicate 98 percent of thefts occur in the locker rooms, where cameras would be illegal.
David Mahan, director of operations for the Rec Center, said all the thefts were the result of Rec Center users leaving possessions in unlocked lockers or on benches.
The increase in theft reports in the Marketplace and the rest of the Union comes despite the installation of security cameras in January 2009. Public Safety received reports of 16 total thefts last year — seven thefts in the Marketplace and nine throughout the rest of the Union. In 2008, there were 14 total thefts.
Technical issues prevented Black Bear Dining staff from using security cameras until fall semester of 2009. The cameras are not watched around the clock, but are used to verify the identities of shoplifters.
Associate Dean of Student Affairs Kenda Scheele said that cameras are not necessarily for prevention of theft, but that they were used to aid in the identification of thieves.
“The cameras are more safety than security,” Scheele said. “They were mostly to make sure the building was secure in making sure people aren’t getting in who shouldn’t. They weren’t necessarily put there to keep people from taking things.”
Scheele said that while the cameras’ purpose may not be theft prevention, they did serve as a deterrent and to help identify thieves after thefts had occurred.
Kathy Kittridge, director of dining operations, said Tuesday that one of her employees pointed out a Marketplace patron acting suspiciously. She reviewed the tape and claims to have identified someone stealing a drink. She is working with Public Safety to identify the alleged thief.
“We were experiencing a lot of theft,” Kittridge said. “Quite frequently, when we catch people in the marketplace shoplifting, they’re eating before they purchased [the food] or putting things in their backpacks,” Kittridge said. “We put in the cameras kind of as a deterrent.”
Kittridge said an advertising campaign accompanied the cameras to promote awareness of the consequences of shoplifting. She stressed the seriousness of shoplifting, which can culminate in a criminal record.
“Sometimes there seems to be a sense of entitlement — ‘Well, I pay a lot for this.’ People think they can take things,” Kittridge said.
Scheele said the Campus Safety Committee is considering installing more cameras in the Union near the information desk, the commuter lounge and the hallway leading toward the Wade Center for Student Leadership. She said the cameras are likely to be installed within the next two years. The cameras might help identify thieves, but they exist for other reasons as well, Scheele said.
“We’ve had damage done to the bathroom on the first floor,” Scheele said. “That men’s bathroom has been vandalized twice in the past year.”
Steps are being taken in the Rec Center to prevent theft. Director of Campus Recreation Jeffrey Hunt said the Rec Center will continue to use posters inside and outside locker rooms to educate members and nonmembers alike on how to protect themselves and not be victims of theft. Mahan and Hunt also said there were plans in the works to put automatic locks on the lockers to prevent Rec Center users from being vulnerable. But Hunt and Mahan said that Rec Center users should exercise more caution with what they bring to the center, as well as making sure it’s secure.
“Just recently I took 15 iPods to Campus Safety,” Mahan said. He said these were recovered from the locker room after Rec Center users left them behind.
Scheele said this kind of common sense is key in preventing theft on campus.
“The biggest thing in these theft cases is not to be a victim,” Scheele said. “These are crimes of opportunity, and not everyone on campus is part of our community.”
Dylan Riley contributed to this report.
