Petty crimes still persistent hassle for victims

March 25 started like any other Friday for graduate student Joe Pecorelli.    

He headed to the stacks in the Herman B Wells Library to get some work done before beginning his weekend. After setting his bag at his desk, he stepped a few feet away between bookshelves to search for a book he needed. He suddenly heard rapid footsteps near him that gradually grew quieter, yet thought nothing of it until he returned to his carrel and found his bag missing.

Immediately, he went to the circulation desk, where the police were called and janitors were notified so they could search the garbage cans. After much time spent searching and talking with the police, Pecorelli did eventually find his bag yet expressed his concern about the possible dangers of the stacks and the chances of crime in general. It was not so much that his bag was stolen, he said, as it was that much worse things might be likely to occur.  

“I think that those are potentially dangerous areas, and I think that there should be some measure of security up there,” Pecorelli said.

Across campus, thefts, vandalism and other petty crimes similar to Pecorelli’s situation happen on a regular basis.

Vandalism, for example, is quite common among the residence halls, said Justin Brown, who is an assistant to the dean of students as a case coordinator and is also involved in Student Ethics and Anti-Harassment Programs. Of the 121 vandalism or harassment situations reported between July 2009 and June 2010 to incident teams, the majority occurred within the residence halls.

Brown said it is difficult to determine what is or is not considered vandalism.

“Vandalism is defined differently by different people,” Brown said.

It might range from harming property, which would result in a case being sent through the campus or residential judicial systems, to messages written or words tossed around that could be potentially threatening, Brown said.

After an incident is reported, the action then taken by the incident teams and Student Ethics varies from case to case, Brown said.

“The consequences for an act of vandalism, whether it is motivated or not, can be severe if there are prior incidents or the damage is really extensive or the victim (is) really hurt,” Brown said.

Generally, residence halls handle most situations that take place on their own through floor meetings and warnings while the incident teams “are informal means of responding,” Brown said. Their main goal is to educate those involved in certain situations so as to prevent any further harm being done.    

“For the most part anything that we can do to try to educate the person (who committed the crime) is helpful,” Brown said.  

Residence halls respond to certain other situations by issuing necessary information to all residents in the specific building. Signs plastered around Read Center this past fall warned residents of thefts that had been occurring regularly around the building.

The IU Police Department also promotes personal knowledge and prevention of crime through statistics presented online and classes offered throughout the school year, according to its website. These implications came about “in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act,” the website details, which made it necessary to offer this kind of crime prevention knowledge to the public.

Whatever the crime might be, however minor it might seem, Pecorelli said he feels that the University must maintain some sort of protection.
  
“The University has an obligation to protect its belongings, its investments and, more importantly, its students,” Pecorelli said.