by Abigail Ramirez
Daily Lobo
As student Marica Martinic walked to a bike rack in front of Johnson Gym, she saw that her white mountain bike was nowhere to be found.
"I didn't think it would happen to me," she said. "Why would someone want to steal my bike? I couldn't really believe it."
Martinic was going to buy a U-lock for her bike, but it was stolen before she had the chance to buy one. Her bicycle was stolen in fall 2004.
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"People who steal bikes don't realize how expensive it can be to replace a bike when you're a college student," she said. "It's easy for somebody to steal one, but it's hard on the other person to replace it."
Most crimes committed on campus are directed toward student property like bicycles and cars, said Pat Davis, spokesman for the UNM Police Department.
Student Jonathan Jaramillo agreed.
"I've known a couple of people that had their car windows broken in the structure and all of their stuff was stolen like their car radio, car radars and CDs," he said.
Student Jay Lewis Kraitsik had problems off campus.
"I ride my bike on campus and never had a problem with that, but I lock my bike with a U-lock," he said. "I have parked my car in a nearby neighborhood, and it was broken into."
Bicycle theft is especially targeted when the new school year starts, Davis said.
"We find that people from off campus come here knowing that new students are generally focused on school early on in the year, and students will neglect the thought of their property for a while," he said.
There were 139 reported bike thefts last year, Davis said. No place in particular is a primary place for violations, because UNM is an open campus, he said.
Offenders sell the stolen bikes to pawn shops and bike shops to get money, Davis said. To prevent this from happening, the UNM Police Department and the shops work together, he said. They make customers show a receipt of purchase for the bike they would like to sell, he said. If the customer does not have a receipt, the store calls the department to see if the bike matches any stolen bikes, he said.
"Most of the information that leads to arrests comes from concerned students or staff or faculty who call us concerned about something suspicious," Davis said. "We wouldn't be as good at what we do without the help of those people that call."
Students are encouraged to report a crime even if they think nothing can be done to fix it, because it gives the department an idea of where and when crimes are happening, he said.
Most bicycle thefts are committed by repeated offenders from off campus, he said. The percentage of students that commit crimes is very small, he said.
If anyone from outside UNM is found committing a crime on campus, they are arrested and can be banned from the University, he said.
If the department charges a student for a crime, they can be sent to court and to the Dean of Students Office for violating the code of conduct, said Randy Boeglin, dean of students.
"Every case is handled case by case," he said. "We look at the circumstances, the motive, intent, how impactful the act was, and then make a sanctioning judgment based on their previous history."
If students are found guilty of violating the code of conduct, a behavioral record is left in the students' file and they can receive anything from a warning to expulsion, Boeglin said.
"More often than not it's a first time offense for students, but the amount is so small that it's a blip on the radar screen," Davis said. "We mainly focus on keeping students safe from other people. They are not in danger of each other."
Davis said students can take simple steps to secure themselves against property crimes. For bicycles, students should use a solid U-lock instead of a chain or cable that can easily be cut. Dorm rooms need to be locked when students are not present. Students can take steps to prevent car burglary by hiding valuables out of sight and locking car doors.
If students need help or see a suspicious person, they should call the Albuquerque Police Department for emergencies at 911 or the UNM police department at 272-2241, Davis said.
Students can also use the blue light phones around campus.
"Our officers are never far away," he said. "Our average response time is less than 2 minutes for any call. That's the lowest that I've ever heard of."
