Burglary is the third most committed crime on the UW-Madison campus and with spring break approaching, students and police officers are concerned with an increase in thefts while students are gone.
The Associated Students of Madison held a panel discussion on campus theft Tuesday night. The problem of theft, judging by the low attendance at the panel, may not be foremost on all students' minds.
Madison Police Officer Tim Strassman said that in the last five or six years there have been more burglaries at UW-Madison over breaks than while students are on campus.
\During breaks thieves have more time,"" Strassman said. ""They can go through an entire apartment building and spend an hour in each apartment.""
Students who had been burglarized talked about their experiences.
""It does make you look around when you lock your doors at night,"" UW-Madison student Elise Wagner said.
Madison patrol officers are likely to pay special attention to campus neighborhoods during break and some neighborhood officers may do lock checks, Strassman said.
He said burglars do not appear suspicious and know the areas they plan to rob.
""There are indicators such as snow removal, or the mail not being picked up, or they watch to see when you and your roommates leave,"" he said. ""The thief will probably be college age, carrying a backpack around, although that backpack may be full of stolen items.""
UW-Madison junior Jisoo Kim, an ASM intern for campus safety, said students are unaware of the number of thefts on campus because of the lack of publicity.
""Madison is a student city,"" he said. ""This is a safe campus and there is trust among the students.""
This trust may be part of the problem.
""It's amazing the amount of doors and windows that are left unlocked,"" Strassman said. ""Thieves know there is going to be no one home and will usually test each doorknob until they find an unlocked door.\
