Theft increase not expected in dorms over Winter Break

Tweet

By Travis Walker

Residence halls are not at a great risk for having valuables stolen over Winter Break than at any other point in the year, said the official in charge of UK’s housing.

“We’ve never had a case where someone broke into a residence hall and stole something, to my knowledge,” said Ben Crutcher, UK’s associate vice president for Auxiliary Services.

Crutcher said while no security personnel patrol residence halls during breaks, precautions are taken. Cameras monitor the front desks of the residence halls, and every dorm room in the residence halls requires a key to gain entry.

“Nobody can just walk into residence halls unless they have a card swipe,” Crutcher said.
Haggin Hall Resident Director Joe Lewis said the only people who enter occupied dormitory rooms are resident advisers, who check to make sure dorm rooms are ready to be shut down on Saturday at noon.

Over Winter Break, the only two undergraduate dormitories that are open are New North and Smith halls, he said.

“We try to lock the place down,” Lewis said. “People just can’t come in. We take a lot of precautions to make sure people can’t get to your stuff.”

Dormitory residents are advised to take a majority of belongings home over break, according to the sheet posted on residents’ doors. But many students may not take all of their belongings, said Wallace Hawkins, Haggin Hall’s assistant hall director.

Most students choose what to take home based on what they will use and not necessarily how valuable possessions are, he said.

“Most college freshmen bring stuff home because they want to use it,” Hawkins said.

Undeclared freshman Chris McCabe said while he is taking “everything of extreme value,” such as his laptop, he does not plan on taking many of his belongings home over Winter Break. McCabe said he believes theft will not be a big issue.

“There’s going to be less people in here over the break,” McCabe said. “They’re going to better watch over the place, whereas now, there are hundreds of people who could potentially steal stuff.”

Any thefts in Haggin Hall are usually referred to police, Lewis said.

Maj. Joe Monroe, UK’s interim police chief, could not be reached for comment Thursday through Sunday about thefts in campus buildings. Anthany Beatty, UK’s assistant vice president for public safety, could not be reached Sunday.