College students are often advised to never leave their belongings and personal items unattended.
Mortensen Library at the University of Hartford even has several signs hanging on its walls around the building with the message: “SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Please do not leave your laptop or personal belongings unattended in the library.”
The library may feel like a seemingly safe place where the assumption is that all the students are there just to study, but sometimes that’s not the case and there may be some people looking for trouble.
Although the University of Hartford is located on private property in a fairly secluded area with only three road entrances/exits, the campus is still open to the public. That alone should serve as enough incentive to always protect one’s own belongings.
Recently, there have been four incidents just in the month of October in which five total laptops have been reported stolen from the Harry Jack Gray Center. Two of the stolen laptops were IBM Lenovo ThinkPads, two were MacBooks and one was a Microsoft Surface tablet.
Each of the four incidents occurred on the third floor of the Harry Jack Gray Center. One was in the HJG conference rooms while the other three were in Mortensen Library.
Of the incidents that occurred in the library, the students were studying in one of the secluded back areas of the third floor.
“Every laptop theft is because the people who left them there didn’t stay with it,” Department of Public Safety Lieutenant Christopher Lyons said. “They left it to go to the bathroom or to go get a coffee. So you have these computers lying around, it’s easy pickings for these guys.”
In two of the incidents, the owners of the laptops sensed suspicious activity and felt that there was a person that just didn’t quite fit in with the area they were in. However, they still didn’t report anything and felt comfortable enough to leave the laptops unattended.
“Be aware of your surroundings. If somebody looks like they don’t fit, tell somebody,” Public Safety officer Timothy Metcalfe said. “If you’re not comfortable challenging them, don’t challenge them but go tell somebody. Maybe you should call Public Safety because this guy shouldn’t be here.”
A REMINDER to students to NEVER leave their belongings unattended even if you'll "be right back." Better to be safe than sorry #UHart
— The Informer (@UHartInformer) October 20, 2015
Public Safety urges members of the community to not hesitate to contact them if they see suspicious or threatening activity.
To reach Lyons, his number is 860-768-7985 and to reach Metcalfe, his number is 860-768-7871. Public Safety’s emergency 24-hour number is 860-768-7777 while their routine call number is 860-768-7985.
The safest and easiest way to prevent a theft is still to never leave personal items unattended, no matter if a person will only be gone for a short amount of time.
“Yeah it sucks, it’s a pain. You got to go to the bathroom, you go to pack everything up and take it with you,” Metcalfe said. “You pee with a laptop or you come back and you have no laptop. Take your pick. What’s more of an inconvenience for you?
“It’s more inconvenient to go through this mess of reporting a stolen laptop, finding it and replacing it rather than packing up, going to the bathroom and coming back,” he continued. “Yeah it’s inconvenient that you have to pack all your stuff up, but what’s the bigger inconvenience?”
The Department of Public Safety have also said that they have stepped up their patrol in the area.