“As I came up the stairs, all I saw was the screen on my front window had been taken off and I knew right then what had happened,” said Mack Clark, a resident of the campus area. Clark and his two roommates were three of the many victims of theft over this holiday break.
Many students are not aware that theft around the campus area during breaks is an issue.
“Criminals typically know when students are leaving and their homes are vulnerable,” Steven Chambers of the Eugene Police Department said. “There is low risk of getting caught and high reward. It seems to vary, but I would say it about doubles compared to the rest of the year.”
Clark was only gone for one week. He remembered to lock his front door when leaving his apartment on 17th Avenue and Patterson Street, but sadly the thieves made it through the window.
“My new bike was gone, they took two Xbox 360s, a lot of my clothes were taken and basically all of my shoes, backpacks and hats,” Clark said.
His first reaction was to call EPD, but he had trouble getting through because they were so busy.
“Usually right at the tail end of breaks we see a lot of phone calls. It does get pretty busy for burglaries,” Chambers admitted.
Instead, he decided it may be beneficial to contact Eugene Property Management Concepts, but unfortunately they could not do anything for him either.
“That is one thing when they sign their lease we share with them. It’s highly recommended that they buy renters insurance for this exact reason,” Kim Gates, the manager of Eugene Property Concepts, explained. “It just gives them that added peace of mind.”
Renters insurance seems to be the only safety net for students.
“It’s a very simple policy to get depending on how much furniture, computers and belongings a student has,” according to Christine Dambach, a local Farmer’s Insurance agent. “It costs the average person between $10 and $20 a month and it protects against anything from theft to fires.”
According to Chambers and the crime prevention unit at EPD, “We try to do outreach to students before breaks and typically increase patrols around where students live during breaks.”
For Clark and his roommates, however, it’s too late. Their only option now is to get renters insurance for the future and make sure to lock everything up next time they leave their home.
“I would suggest every student in the area to get renters insurance and take anything valuable to you with you home for breaks so it’s not in danger,” Clark advised.