This past week Fairfield University’s department of public safety posted notices on StagWeb and throughout campus notifying students of several laptop thefts on and off campus.
According to Frank Ficko, associate director of public safety, the university was first notified about the thefts by the Fairfield Police Department.
“When we were notified by Fairfield Police of thefts of laptops at five houses on the beach, we followed up on some leads,” Ficko said. “Since then there have been several more thefts on and off campus.”
Lindsay Anderson ’05, who lives at the Guy’s Dupe on Lantern Point, was one of the students whose house was targeted.
Three laptops were stolen from her house while her and her housemates were all out at various places for no more than a half hour.
“Our house was empty for about 30 minutes when one of my housemates came home with her boyfriend and saw a man outside our window,” Anderson said.
According to Anderson, whose housemate notified the police immediately, the man was wearing a navy blue sweatshirt, glasses, and had a goatee.
“In total, eight laptops from beach houses and eight laptops from campus residences have been stolen,” Ficko said. “Several thefts have been reported in residence halls and two at the townhouses.”
“There were no signs of forcible entry in any of the thefts on campus,” he said. “All have occurred when the student’s rooms were unlocked and unoccupied.”
“Two thefts occurred when students emptied out into the quad after game one of the Red Sox/Yankees championship series,” he said.
According to Ficko, while forcible entry has not been an issue on campus, thefts at the beach have been break-in’s and involved the removal of screens.
Public safety urges students to report any suspicious activity they see including students entering residence hall rooms and then indicating they were looking for someone else in another room since the culprit is targeting unlocked, unoccupied rooms.
“We call these ‘Crimes of Opportunity’,” Ficko said. “It doesn’t sound like much, but it is so important to lock your doors, even if you leave for a short time.”
During Columbus Day Weekend, a master key to the Dolan School of Business was stolen.
“The key was reported missing October 11,” Ficko said. “As a result, every lock and cylinder in the school of business was replaced by campus operations.”
“Additional items were discovered missing but we’re not sure when they were taken. Public Safety remained present in the area until the situation was under control,” he said.
“We encourage students to keep valuables out of plain view, out of sight, even locked if possible,” Ficko said. “There is no need to have valuables on campus-bring them home. Also, we strongly recommend cable locks for laptops. They are inexpensive and very functional.”
All students have been warned of these crimes through Stagweb, and they have had varied responses.
Brian Sweeney ’08, isn’t worried.
“I am comfortable keeping my door unlocked,” he said. “I have a high respect for people, and I don’t think someone would do that.”
Nikki Calabrese ’08, who has always been careful to lock her door, now feels that she has more reason to be cautious.
“I was reading online how laptops were getting stolen, so I think its better to just lock my door,” she said.
The Department of Public Safety asks anyone with information to contact them and for students to immediately report any suspicious persons or behavior.
Leave a Reply