Get a clue, lock 'em up

They're all gems. Those stories our elders tell us of "way back when" and "a long time ago" when candy bars were a nickel and a gallon of gas was only a dime. And then there's the story from the '50s and '60s when, "we didn't have to even lock our doors in Gary. It was so safe back then; no one thought twice about leaving things open."\nOkay, not everyone has heard that spin, but some of us have, and it's a good comparative example when speaking of the recent outbreak of parking permit theft on the Bloomington campus. \nThat "unlocked" era is basically a fantasy world now -- not just in Gary, but here in Bloomington as well.\nHome to IU Northwest, Gary has been listed on the Morgan Quinto Award list as one of the top five most dangerous U.S. cities. Despite being in the middle of a haven of crime, the campus had zero cases of campus robbery and zero cases of burglary in 2001. \nWhen asked if there had been any reports of parking permit theft on campus so far this year, IUN's parking operations operator said no thefts had been reported. The only ones missing were those that had been lost.\nSo now let's roll back down I-65 to Bloomington where the number of parking permit thefts has seemingly gone out of control.\nThe most recent statistics found concerning theft on the IUB campus were for 2001 when 68 cases of on-campus burglary were reported. \nSixty-eight.\nThis should tell you something, especially when looking at the numbers of stolen permits for August 2002 alone. According to a September IDS report, since Aug. 1, 32 incidents of parking permit theft on the Bloomington campus were reported. Sixteen of these took place on Aug. 13. \nGranted, there are more people at IUB than IUN, but evidence shows that people up there must be slightly more intelligent when it comes to locking their car doors. Perhaps being in the midst of a crime-ridden location makes them more aware of the fact that taking extra precautions is necessary. But while they've got crime to worry about, we've got numbers. With 38,903 students enrolled on the Bloomington campus this semester, that leaves an even greater chance of petty crimes (like stealing someone's permit) to take place. Bloomington might not seem like a dangerous place, but people need to realize leaving your car unlocked and unattended for even five minutes can result in theft. \nAnd we need to tell you this?\nIf the problem persists (which it shouldn't if people would use their heads), an alternative to the hanging permit would obviously be a window sticker. People who have been stealing hanging permits have been selling them for profit, and not only would a window sticker be harder to steal, it'd be really hard to resell since it probably wouldn't stay in place.\nWe're here to state the obvious.\nIf you left your wallet or purse with $275.08 (the price of a year A permit) sitting on the front seat of your unlocked vehicle, you'd look just as stupid. So don't be surprised if your permit is missing when you're absentminded enough to leave the thing open with $275.08 hanging in the window.\n