Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Yates Thefts Spike in October

A rash of thefts hit Yates Field House this month, with five incidents occurring over a two-week period.

In contrast, seven thefts at Yates were reported to the Department of Public Safety between January and September. Similarly, in past years there have been few thefts reported at the location during the month of October. In 2010 and 2011, no thefts were reported at Yates in that month, and only one was reported in October 2009.

Overall, theft has not spiked significantly on campus this month. A total of 18 incidents have occurred through Oct. 24; in comparison, 19 thefts had been reported last month through Sept. 24.

Each victim of theft at Yates within the last month had property stolen from a locker, according to DPS records. Four reports indicated that items were stolen from an unsecured locker, while one report did not specify whether or not the locker was secured.

Among the items stolen from the lockers were wallets, a sweatshirt, school supplies and other unspecified property. Four of the thefts occurred between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Kaitlin Carano (COL ’13) had her wallet stolen from her backpack in the women’s locker room Oct. 16 between 4:50 p.m. and 5:50 p.m. Despite having her laptop in the same bag as her wallet, her laptop was left untouched.

Carano said that while it is difficult to ensure security in a locker room, she thinks more can be done to prevent theft at the field house.

“I talked to DPS, and they had had a few of these thefts happen, and they said the hard thing is that they can’t put cameras in [the locker rooms],” she said. According to Carano, she was not aware of a theft problem because it hasn’t been publicized. “I go to Yates all the time, and I’ve never had a problem.”

Carano suggested that increasing awareness about thefts from the location would be helpful in preventing future crimes and that Yates should continue to advertise the ease of renting a locker or encourage members to bring a personal lock to secure their belongings.

All of the theft cases are still pending investigation, according to the DPS website.

Representatives of DPS did not respond to requests for comment.

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