aswanny@unm.edu
Locking up your bicycle does not mean it won’t be stolen.
At least 32 people figured this out the hard way when their bicycles were stolen from campus during the fall semester. At the beginning of the semester, UNMPD Lieutenant Robert Haarhues said it’s difficult to tell how big of a problem theft actually is, because not everybody reports these incidents.
UNM student Taylr Woodin reported that his $600 bicycle was stolen Oct. 27 after he had locked it to a rack at Hokona Courtyard.
“I feel wronged,” he said. “I still do not trust locking anything up outside on the bike racks. The bike has been mine since I was in the 8th grade and I used to ride it six miles a day to and from school.”
Even before it was stolen, Woodin did not feel safe locking his bike at UNM. Since the incident, he said he takes no chances with any of his belongings on campus.
“If my stuff can be taken from there, right next to where I live, I feel that my stuff could easily be broken into,” he said. “I have bought several locks since then to lock up personal items.”
Larcenies made up the majority of incidents reported to UNMPD during the semester, accounting for 45 percent of the reports.
Most of the stolen property was unattended items, accounting for 51 of the 104 larceny reports.
Haarhues said larceny has always been the most commonly reported incident and most are crimes of opportunity. He said UNMPD hasn’t yet compiled statistics for 2012, but estimated that the difference between the number of larcenies during fall 2012 and previous semesters is unlikely to be statistically significant.
The number of incidents is more or less the same every year, he said.
In accordance with the Clery Act, every year campus police departments publish a safety report. The UNMPD report for the 2010-11 school year does not have a category for larceny in general. It does show that in 2011, UNMPD reported four robberies, 19 burglaries and 57 auto thefts. This past semester, there were 26 burglaries and 16 auto thefts.
Criminal damage was the second most commonly reported incident this semester, though the safety report does not include a count of criminal damage incidents. Haarhues said most of these incidents are graffiti related, specifically spray painting.
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“It’s being reported more by all UNM staff, faculty and students, so the reported numbers are higher, but I think it is actually lower than in years past,” he said.
Battery was the third most commonly reported incident this semester but the safety report only gives figures for aggravated assault. More than half of the reported incidents took place at UNMH.
Although battering health care workers is a felony, Haarhues said it is pretty typical.
“UNMH deals with a lot of folks that are not only in need of medical attention, but are also either intoxicated, on illegal drugs or having mental health issues,” he said. “These combinations make for poor patients and oftentimes doctors, nurses, or other staff are assaulted.”
The most common substance-related incident that UNMPD reported in the fall was Minor in Possession, accounting for seven of the 16 reported incidents. There were four reports of marijuana possession, four of drug paraphernalia possession, two DWI, and one of prohibited possession of a controlled substance. Because some reports include more than one incident, the number of incidents outnumbers the 16 reports.
The campus safety report shows that in 2011 UNMPD made 11 liquor law arrests and 20 drug law arrests last year.
