Campus thefts break out in parking lots

Cars+parked+in+the+DVC+parking+lot+in+front+of+the+Biology+building.+A+small+wave+of+recent+thefts+has+students+wondering+if+their+vehicle+is+safe.

Jesse Sutterley

Cars parked in the DVC parking lot in front of the Biology building. A small wave of recent thefts has students wondering if their vehicle is safe.

Dustin Pyne, Staff member

Only two weeks into the semester, Diablo Valley College students have already experienced back-to-back car breaks-ins and property theft.

According to a police report from Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 5:11 p.m. a student’s car was broken into near the Business and Foreign Language building in parking lot 7B, resulting in a stolen wallet.

Another car was burglarized almost two hours later at 6:53 p.m. in the DVC overflow lot on Golf Club Road.

The car’s window was broken and more personal property was taken.

This recent wave of car burglaries have made some students weary of what they bring to school as well as where they park.

Do students feel safe on campus?

“It depends on if it’s close to the music building,” said 22-year-old jazz studies major Trevor Murphy. “The more isolated the location, the more likely (the car) is to be broken into. I have to be careful especially being a musician, there are sometimes expensive instruments in my car.”

This sentiment is shared by many DVC students who park their cars on campus, while others are unconcerned about the recent thefts.

“I feel like if we don’t show anything valuable in sight, there would be less break-ins,” said Chika Asakawa, a 20-year-old music performance major.

“(DVC) probably should be increasing the amount of police patrolling campus,” Asakawa said. “People probably feel like they can get away with things.

However, cars are not the only personal property being targeted on campus.

On Jan. 27, a student’s bike was taken from the bike rack in front of the Library only six days after the recent car thefts.

There were no known witnesses, and this event became the third act of theft on campus in seven days.

Despite numerous attempts to contact the DVC police for a statement, Lt. Chad Wehrmeister refused to respond to the Inquirer staff or comment on what is being done to prevent future theft.

Currently, the DVC online website is the only place that students can turn to get tips for safety on campus.

These typical bullet-points don’t leave much room for situations outside the textbook definition of safety, but is an important place for students learn about precautions they can take to keep our campus safe for the remainder of the semester and beyond.