By Kimmy Nevas
Leave your window open, and your new iPod nano may grow legs and walk away. With a little help, of course.
The month of September is peak season for burglaries at off-campus apartments, said Officer John Boyle, spokesman for the Boston Police Department. Northeastern students, many still adjusting to their new neighborhoods, have come home to find their apartments ransacked and valuable items missing.
Although police do not disclose the locations of burglaries for the residents’ safety, the Aug. 10 and Sept. 7 editions of The News’ Crime Log reported cases of breaking and entering on Hemenway Street and in West Village.
Break-ins “tend to happen in the daytime,” Associate Director of Public Safety James Ferrier said, “while students are in class, at work or on co-op.”
One basic precaution students can take is closing their windows. A large number of students whose apartments are burglarized report they had left windows open, Ferrier said. Open windows, common in the warm weather, provide an easy point of entry for would-be criminals.
“Burglars would much rather go in through a window than break down a door,” Ferrier said.
While the break-ins have affected Northeastern students, it is by no means exclusive to properties leased by the school; the Back Bay, East Fens and the South End have seen a rise in burglaries over the past several weeks, Ferrier said.
The increase in burglaries this year is not unlike other years, Boyle said. To counter the perennial problem, Boston Police increased patrols and urged students to take precautions.
Freshmen, who for the most part live in on-campus residence halls, are being advised on crime prevention as well. Shortly after move-in, the class of 2010 met with Boston Police Captain Robert Flaherty, commander of District D-4, for a “Cop Talk,” a lecture on safety and crime prevention. Captain Flaherty reminded students to take basic precautions that include keeping doors locked and getting to know neighbors.
Freshman theatre and math major Christina Malanga said she took the information to heart.
“Now I’m going to make sure I lock the door when I go to the bathroom,” Malanga said.
Crime warnings can be found on campus as well, including a canary-yellow notice hung by the Northeastern Police Department in the foyer of 148 Hemenway St. The sign warns residents of burglaries in the area, and offers a number of tips for preventing crime. They include not propping doors open or buzzing unknown persons in and using riser-restrictors on windows.
Northeastern sophomore Benjamin Adams lives at 45 Westland Ave. and is aware of crimes in the area. Neither he, nor anyone he knows, however, has been a burglary victim.
“I ain’t gonna lie, I’ve heard about it, but I didn’t think too much about it until now,” Adams said. “Now we’re careful about not losing keys. You don’t know who could get a hold of them. Keep them in a safe place.”
