After a sharp increase in thefts at Simon Fraser University's Burnaby campus, security is developing a new approach to educate students that crime can happen anywhere, even at school.
In 2012, the number of general thefts jumped from 183 to 287, and this isn't a new trend, according to the university's security report. In 2010, there were only 109 thefts reported on campus.
"This is primarily what we call thefts of opportunity, so it's essentially stuff that's left unattended," said Steve MacLean, director of campus security for Simon Fraser University.
The most common items stolen, according to MacLean, are iPhones, iPads, tablets, cellphones and laptops.
"Things that are really portable, relatively small and that can easily be picked up," he said. "People would place (the items) down at a study carrel or a desk, or something like this, and then just leave for a minute to go to the washroom or perhaps run some photocopies, or visit somebody else at another carrel."
And when they'd get back to the desk, the items would be gone, he explained.
These "thefts of opportunity" were the main cause of the increase in general thefts on campus in 2012 and while many students report the crimes, they almost never get their stuff back, MacLean said.
"Once they're stolen, they're stolen," he added.
General thefts had become quite the problem for security on campus, so much so the team developed a strategy to encourage students to be more careful with their stuff.
"For the month of April we had the 'leave it, lose it' campaign," he said.
The campaign featured a series of posters put up around campus urging students to be wary of leaving personal items, especially electronics, unattended. One poster read, "This isn't just a laptop. It's a target," another "This isn't just a phone. It's a target." The posters included information on how to report thefts or suspicious activity and warned students that "personal item theft is the most frequent crime at SFU. If you leave it, you could lose it."
"It consisted of some twitter stuff, little cards we submitted to people, and used our student patrollers to engage our community as well, to provide information," he said. "It was fairly successful."
During the month of April, while the campaign was running, campus thefts dropped 30 per cent compared to April of 2012, MacLean said.
"It's about awareness. People get complacent, people think 'Well, I'm just going 10 metres down the way' . and they turn around and their stuff is gone," he added. "It's the same as if you were to leave your . iPhone on a bench in any mall, and then come back and expect to see it there, it's probably going to be gone."
MacLean said campus security intends to resurrect the campaign sometime this fall, in order to spread the message to new Simon Fraser students.
"And then just as reminders as we go down the road, to keep that (message) fresh," he added.
