School is back, and so are the criminals

Hi Everyone. It's been a while since I posted to this blog, but I found a great local article on safety and awareness that I thought I'd share with you. The article was originally posted on the Boston Bulletin website.

Stay safe!
Sensei J.

School is back, and so are the criminals
18.SEP.08
Jessica Leving
Special to the Bulletin

With local universities back in full swing for the fall semester, Allston-Brighton police have a warning for students: protect your belongings.

"College kids tend to be pretty careless with their property and personal effects," said Officer Dan Daley, a District 14 representative of the Boston Police Department, in a phone interview Friday. "People who steal things know that."

Daley said he estimates that crime goes up 10-15 percent every year when students return from summer vacation, although he said so far this year the increase has been moderate. According to the Boston Police Department’s 2008 year-to-date crime data, there was a 16 percent increase in successful and attempted robberies, burglaries, and larcenies from Aug. 10 to Sept. 9, as compared with a 10 percent increase in the same areas from July 20 to Aug. 10.

"In general, any time you have more people coming into an area, you’re going to see an increase in crime," Daley said. "Crooks know that college kids have things that can easily be re-sold, like computers and iPods. Spikes in theft of things like that are pretty common this time of year."
Some Allston residents, however, say they have not noticed any increase in crime as students return for the fall semester.

Taylor Ramos, a student at the New England Institute of Art who moved to Allston two months ago, said she feels safe in Allston and thinks she is well prepared to live in an urban environment.
"I moved here from the woods," Ramos said of her rural upbringing. "But a lot of it is common sense. When you’re living in a new place with people you don’t know, lock your doors. Hide your money. That kind of thing."

Debra Luchanin, a 12-year Allston resident, is less confident in students’ street smarts.
Though she hesitated to make generalizations, Luchanin said she does believe there may be more "crimes of opportunity" as students try living on their own.

"I remember one time... I just happened to look out the window and see a young woman in the middle of moving in," Luchanin said. "She had pulled her car around and stepped out for a second to go inside, and she left the car door wide open with her purse in it. A guy actually walked by and reached in to take it. I yelled at him from the window and he left... and then I went down and told the girl, you know, as much as I wish it were safe enough to leave your purse outside, it’s really not."

In an effort to stop crimes against students before they start, Officer Daley said Allston police send plain-clothes officers to areas where college students congregate.

"Plain clothes officers are always riding around looking for bad guys," Daley said. "But when the students come, we do send a lot of the officers to areas where college kids live. We know that historically that’s where criminals gravitate."

To best protect against theft, however, Daley said college students must be proactive.
"[College students] need to just remember that people out there will take advantage of you," Daley said. "You have to take away their opportunity."

Daley said students should put valuables such as laptops into places where they are out of sight when not in use, and close the curtains when students leave their homes. He also warns students not to leave valuable items in parked cars, especially in visible locations, such as the front seat.
"These things are common sense," Daley said. "Don’t think that it can’t happen to you, because if you’re careless, there’s a good chance someone will take advantage."