Staff members have reported four thefts to the Department of Public Safety over the past month, including stolen luggage, equipment and jewelry. For a university that typically receives only a few more than a dozen theft reports each year, according to DPS Lieutenant Tad Nelson, the recent upsurge in larceny has raised some eyebrows.
“We have a very, very low rate of petty theft at Pepperdine,” Nelson said, who has been a DPS lieutenant since October 2012. “The amount we get typically varies per month. What usually happens is we will get the report, contact the victim and gather new information. If there are cameras in the area we will look at cameras and see if we can identify a suspect.”
Prior to working at Pepperdine, Nelson said he had 15 years of law enforcement experience including detective work. Nelson and Lieutenant Ed Young are responsible for investigating crimes on campus. Both lieutenants have been working toward solving the recent cases.
A School of Law staff member reported on Feb. 17 that an estimated $3,000 worth of jewelry was missing from an office desk drawer. Nelson said the jewelry was donated and had been in the drawer for a year, waiting to be auctioned off.
“In any event, the jewelry was in an unlocked drawer,” Nelson said. “Whoever got access to the office over a two or three-day period, we don’t know. We don’t have any suspect information.”
Additionally, a theft of $600 cash from the School of Law was reported a few weeks later, though Nelson said the money was also in an unlocked cabinet.
“A lot of these instances usually occur at night or after hours,” Nelson said. “I know the School of Law is open until late, and there’s people walking in and out. So if offices are left unsecured or propped open, it gives people an opportunity to be curious about what is inside and maybe enter in.”
Nelson said the team has been investigating at the School of Law in light of these crimes, with particular attention to the cleaning crew.
“You can see that petty theft is a crime of opportunity for the most part,” Nelson said. “It would be like students going to the library or the TCC and leaving their computer when they get up to get a drink or make a phone call, and they expect that the computer, phone or other property will be there when they return.”
But larceny has not been confined to the School of Law, as a DPS officer reported recently that he was missing equipment from the offices.
“We investigated that as well,” Nelson said. “We don’t have cameras internally. We pretty much use the honor system. We could have eyes in the sky; that’d be great. But at the same time, we need to find balance so it’s not Big Brother when everybody is under surveillance.”
Compared to other college campuses, Nelson said Pepperdine has a fairly low crime rate. For instance, in March alone, Loyola Marymount University has reported 14 thefts, and UC Irvine has reported 34 thefts in their Daily Crime Logs as of March 24. In contrast, Pepperdine received 18 total theft reports for all of 2013.
Annually, Nelson said DPS files about 1,500 reports, most of them being found property reports. (In 2013, Nelson said DPS filed 110 lost property reports, compared to 395 reports for found property.)
“This shows that people are returning things at Pepperdine,” Nelson said. “But the problem is that they are still people out there taking things.”
Along with the stolen jewelry, cash and DPS equipment, a theft of luggage from the School of Law was also reported in the past few weeks. It was last seen about five or six months ago according to the report, and a staff member recently noticed it was missing when they returned to the common closet area.
If a theft is reported, Nelson said the DPS team has a much easier time finding possessions when the owner has receipts, pictures or serial numbers of the objects. Identifying marks such as initials help as well.
“I feel like the crime rate at Pepperdine is probably low in comparison to other schools, but it still exists,” freshman Michaela Hertoghe said. “At the library, I leave my stuff out all the time. I don’t know about the HAWC, though. The HAWC’s a little sketchy.”
On a scale from one to 10, junior Nate Edwards said he’d rank Pepperdine’s crime rate at two.
“I’ve only had a few things stolen here, like some headphones and an iPod,” Edwards said. “I don’t think theft at Pepperdine is an issue.”
On the other hand, freshman Stewart Harrison said he doesn’t trust anyone on campus after his laptop went missing.
“I took my laptop out of my backpack [in class] and left it under my seat,” Harrison said. “I definitely think it was stolen because I talked with everybody from the cleaning people to DPS to the teacher that had the class the next day. I have quite a few friends that have also lost items like phones on campus.”
Nelson said that the best way to avoid theft is to treat classrooms and dorm rooms the way one would treat a hotel room.
“If you were to leave the room, you wouldn’t leave your computer in an unlocked drawer or on top of a shelf in the closet,” Nelson said. “We can reduce those thefts by being a little more aware that if you leave high-priced items out, there’s a good chance they won’t be there when you get back.”
For Nelson and the rest of the DPS officers, a case remains open until it is solved or until there are no new workable leads. A case is sometimes closed pending further information, but can be reopened upon the findings of new suspects or evidence. As of now, the jewelry case remains open for investigation though there is no new information.
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Follow Julia Naman on Twitter: @Julia_Naman
