During the holiday season, many students are excited about spending time with family, friends and shopping. While the economy may receive a boost from the increased spending during Black Friday and the subsequent holiday shopping period, students victimized by theft face a much harsher reality.
“It makes me a little uneasy, but I don’t really leave stuff in my car because I know it’s a possibility that it will get stolen,” Kalie Porterfield, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, said. “I don’t really get nervous about it though”
Campus Police Chief Tom Younce notes the holiday period provides prime opportunities for those eager to take advantage of unaware students.
“Most of the crime that occurs around this time is opportunist,” Younce said. “Packages that are visible in cars after people go shopping are easy targets for theft.”
Younce notes that students must be observant of their surroundings and be smart when carrying valuables.
“We notice a lot more theft with people leaving things around,” he said. “Students just need to be more aware.”
The winter wonderland isn’t just jovial for those wishing to drink eggnog and celebrate the festivities, but also for those with sticky hands. Younce states the thick clothing worn by individuals allows for even easier storage of stolen goods.
“When people are wearing such heavy clothing it gives them an easy opportunity for them to commit robberies,” he said.
Aside from theft, Younce also notes that trespassing has seen an increase during the last few weeks.
“This is the time of the year when homeless folks are looking for a place to sleep in the buildings,” he said. “People that we’ve previously trespassed come in out of the cold and get arrested for second degree trespassing.”
Chris Mills, a sophomore in environmental technology, recalls a recent incident when a suspicious individual from off-campus approached him.
“When I was near Nelson Hall, I met a man who was obviously lying saying that his carburetor broke and needed $22 to fix it,” Mills said.
“I didn’t even see any car near him and just told him I was sorry, but didn’t have any money on me.”
Mills decided to walk away when the shady character asked him to go to the ATM to retrieve some money.
“A couple of days later my friend saw the exact same man asking the exact same thing,” Mills said.
Mills believes that Campus Police are still doing a fine job, even if he did have this lone encounter.
“It’s more of a nuisance than a threat when people ask me to give them money,” he said.
Although Mills was specifically asked to withdraw funds from his ATM for an individual, the Raleigh Police Department have been noticing a growing scam involving the automated machines.
“Where you put your card in scammers have devices that will read the info on your card and also have a camera set up out of the way where they can see people punch in their PIN number,” Younce said. “That’s been really prevalent in Raleigh in the last couple of weeks.”
Although this problem hasn’t spread to campus ATMs, it still warrants concern for students.
“That’s kind of scary because sometimes you aren’t really paying attention,” Mills said. “You just go up and get some money out without thinking about it.”
Younce stated the main solution to any criminal activity starts with informed students.
“We’ve got a number of ATM machines on campus by the bookstores and on centennial campus,” he said. “People just need to be aware of ATM machines and observant.”
