Police Stress Safety Both On and Off Campus

It'll only take a few seconds, you reason, so you run inside, leaving the stereo blaring and car running. Once inside, the phone starts ringing, and a few seconds turns into several minutes.

You finally make it back outside, math book in tow and ready for an exciting day at school, but you never make it there. Instead, you spend your morning at the police station describing your stolen car.

Before leaving your car to run inside for a few minutes, before choosing the shortest path to your residence hall room, police officers say, take a second look.

Students, more often than not, tend to be careless about their belongings and their surroundings, officials say. Everything from backpacks to laptops are often left unattended. This, they say, even for a short time, is always a mistake.

"The predominant crime on campus continues to be larceny," University Police Chief Derek Poarch said. "(Students) need to make sure they keep control of their belongings and not leave them unattended."

Poarch also recommended that students take several safety precautions when moving about on campus, especially at night.

These recommendations include walking in groups and in well-lit areas, taking the Point-2-Point and transit buses, informing your roommate about where you're going and when you'll be back and being aware of your surroundings.

Poarch added that students should be particularly careful of who they let into residence halls. "People should not prop doors on dorms open and should not let people in that they don't know," he said.

Student safety concerns go beyond campus, however, and to the many apartment complexes that house much of UNC's student body, officials said.

"It's harder to be aware of what's suspicious (in an apartment complex)," Chapel Hill police officer Chris Blue said. "There's more traffic and a greater concentration of people."

Apartment parking lots are often popular places for car break-ins, Blue said. The average criminal knows that backpacks students left sitting in the back seat might contain a Palm Pilot, a cell phone, even a laptop, Blue said, and they're willing to break in that window to find out.

Particularly important, Blue said, is remembering to replace the cigarette lighter after unplugging personal equipment. A savvy car thief knows that if the cigarette lighter isn't in the dashboard, there's a good chance that somewhere in that same car are CDs, a CD player or a cell phone, Blue said.

Overall, Blue said, it's important students be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious people they see lurking around the premises. "Don't be afraid to call 911," Blue said. "We'll be glad to check it out." Those calls, Blue went on to say, are the calls that prevent crimes from occurring and people from getting hurt.

But regardless of the threat, many students do not feel in danger of being victimized in Chapel Hill or on campus.

"As far as Chapel Hill goes, I feel completely safe walking around at night," said junior Travis Roth. "I am careless a lot of times. ... I guess I have a blind faith of the student body in general."