Students can help to reduce campus crimes

By Angela Lingg

Early in August, an instructor at HCC walked out to his car in the parking lot on 11th St. across from the Cosmosphere. He found his driver-side window smashed out. The next day, a different teacher walked out to his car in the parking lot on Plum St. and found his driver-side window smashed as well.

“Two windows, two instructors, two days in a row, it was an odd coincidence,” said Steve Dunmire, lead security officer at HCC. Nothing was taken from the vehicles.

While the windows being smashed was a bit bizarre, most of the crime on campus is more typical for crime on a campus. A car was left unlocked in a parking lot on campus with a wallet inside. It was reported to Dunmire that someone had gone through the wallet, but nothing was taken.

Dunmire said that most of the crimes on campus were crimes of opportunity because students were not securing their belongings. For instance, last week two bikes were reported missing from campus. One was later recovered at the dorms, but the other bike is still missing. Both bicycles had locks hanging on them, but they were not actually locked to the bike rack.

“They could have easily prevented that if they had used the lock,” Dunmire said.

Another more serious crime was the theft of a large sum of cash out of the athletic building. The cash was later recovered at the dorms.

There have been a few thefts of valuables out of the dorm rooms, however crime over-all, in the dorms, is less this year than it has been in the past.

“Since we got our new security system in most hallways, it hasn’t been as big of a factor, as it has been in the past,” said Darrel Adams, lead residence hall supervisor.

The dorms recently installed new security video cameras in most of the halls in the dorms.

Dunmire said students need to communicate with security on campus. “I think there are probably things that are happening on campus that just aren’t being reported,” he said. “If there is some place that students feel is unsafe, they need to let us know.”

“I feel safe on campus,” said student Coby Comley, Sterling. The only crime he had witnessed so far on campus, were parking violations. Several other students at HCC said they felt safe on campus and that overall, HCC was a fairly safe campus.

If students ever witness a disturbance, they should call 911. Students should also not hesitate to contact campus security if they witness a crime or feel unsafe. There are part-time security students who are available to escort students to safe places during the day and evening. The emergency number for HCC is 620-665-3379.

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