Students’ cars safe in parking lots, police say
Possessions in vehicles can be protected if precautions taken

By Ram Luthra
Staff Reporter

After four cars were broken into within two weeks, police are concerned about recent vehicle break-ins near TCU, said J.C. Williams, assistant chief of TCU Police.

“One of our main priorities is to protect students’ possessions from being stolen,” Williams said. “This is a major problem, and we are addressing it every way we can.”

Laura McFarland/ - Skiff Staff Abigail Manuel, a freshman premajor, equips her car with The Club on Tuesday. TCU Police recommends that students use security measures like this on their cars to help deter would-be criminal activity.

Williams said students frequently leave phones, pagers, backpacks, wallets and purses in places where they can be seen easily.

“Students are always told to keep possessions in their trunks or in secured places,” Williams said. “Burglars are very selective in the things they steal. They have a keen eye to get the valuable items.”

Williams said the police department is doing a good job protecting cars on campus parking lots. He said officers are encouraged to watch for suspicious people around campus parking lots, especially near West Berry Street.

Ross Dix, a freshman premajor, said TCU Police is not doing enough to keep students’ cars safe.

“I think they can do a better job patrolling the campus at night,” he said. “They should realize that we have expensive cars and valuables. If the police were doing a good job, then students would not have to worry about their cars getting broken into.”

TCU Police officer Pam Christian, who works with the crime prevention division, said she urges students to buy deterrent devices such as The Club and The Sleeve.

“These devices are really effective,” Christian said. “They won’t prevent your car from being broken into, but it does decrease the likelihood of burglaries. The more deterrents you have, the less likely people want to mess with it.”

Christian said car alarms are becoming less useful because people do not pay much attention when they go off.

“Car alarms are having a (lesser) impact, but if cars are installed with kill switches, then they are much safer,” Christian said.
A kill switch causes a car to shut down if someone tries to break into it.

The freshman parking lot by Amon Carter Stadium is the only lot that has surveillance cameras, Williams said.

“The freshman parking lot is the safest one on campus,” Williams said. “It has the cameras monitoring it, but most importantly, there is only one way to enter and exit.”

TCU Police officials said it is unlikely surveillance cameras will be installed in other parking lots because of the high costs.

“We have not budgeted any additional surveillance cameras,” Williams said.

Vehicle break-ins are common on college campuses because students do not drive their cars on a daily basis, Williams said.

“Vehicle burglary is a main problem on all college campuses, and TCU is no different,” Williams said. “The problem we have at TCU is our campus is divided by a major street, and there are many easily accessible entrances.”

Williams said a major reason why vehicle break-ins are so common is because they are misdemeanor crimes. Juveniles know they can get away with these crimes without any severe punishments, he said.

“Basically, it is (a) simple slap on the hand,” Williams said. “If people are not punished severely for such crimes, then they will continue to do so.”

Ram Luthra
r.d.luthra@student.tcu.edu