A recent string of car break-ins in Lawrinson Hall garage has left no suspects or leads, according to the Syracuse University Department of Public Safety.

There have been 14 car break-ins on campus since the start of the semester, according to a public safety report. Five of the 14 break-ins were committed in Lawrinson Hall garage during the month of February. Although Public Safety has no leads or suspects, Director of Public Safety Marlene Hall said she does not think the break-ins were committed by a student.

‘Those kind of crimes, unfortunately, are common,’ said Capt. Drew Buske of Public Safety. ‘Unless you come upon the crime while it is occurring it’s very difficult to solve.’

Buske said these car break-ins are ‘committed by very experienced individuals who perpetrate this kind of crime in a matter of minutes.’

Car break-ins are also difficult to detect, Hall said.

‘Folks think that when you break into a vehicle that it’s loud,’ Hall said. ‘It’s not, it’s quiet; it’s very quiet.’

Public Safety suspects the break-ins in Lawrinson Hall garage have all been committed by the same person or group of people, Hall said.

‘Typically you’ll find that – when you have the same break-ins happening in the same area – you find that it is the same suspect or suspects,’ Hall said.

The break-ins are being investigated to see if there are any common denominators to help identify the perpetrator.

Lawrinson Hall garage is not any less secure than any other garage, Hall said. The garage requires a student ID card for access, although there are no security cameras in Lawrinson Hall garage or any other garage on campus, Buske said.

‘Originally there were supposed to be cameras in every garage,’ Mrozienski said.

However, the installation of security cameras on campus is being addressed on a wider scale, Buske said.

‘I think that there should be security cameras strategically placed throughout campus,’ Mrozienski said. ‘None of that hidden stuff, they should be out in the open.’

Visible security cameras would hopefully act as a deterrent to crime, Mrozienski said.

The garages are patrolled, however, on a regular basis to ensure the personal safety of students, Hall said. Regular patrols are required because of a city ordinance passed several years ago following a homicide in a garage.

‘If you look at terms of personal safety in a garage, we’ve done very well,’ Hall said.

According to Hall, ensuring the safety of students’ property is ‘a bit more difficult.’

Until recently, Public Safety had a committee to look into implementing closed-circuit television on campus, said Lt. Andrew Mrozienski of Public Safety. Former chancellor Kenneth Shaw started the committee.

‘(The) committee was recommending that a consultant come in and assess the campus,’ Mrozienski said.

The dean of Students Office took over researching closed circuit television, however, last fall, Mrozienski said. The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators was then hired to consult and evaluate Public Safety as well as consider the viability of closed-circuit television on campus, Hall said. IACLEA was also hired by SU back in 2000 to evaluate Public Safety.

‘IACLEA is a very reputable association,’ Hall said.

While IACLEA has completed its consultation, Public Safety has not yet received its report yet, Hall said. Its report is due in March.

Some students do not lock their car doors to prevent their car from being damaged while being broken into, Hall said. According to Hall, doing so allows criminals more time to steal from other cars and may jeopardize the safety of the car’s owner.

‘It’s one thing to steal stuff, it’s another thing to give them a hiding place,’ Hall said. ‘It’s the classic (criminal) coming from the back of the seat.’

Published on February 27, 2005 at 12:00 pm