MUPD reports theft as common crime

Items are sometimes stolen, but recovered items outweigh thefts.

By Rachel Allred

Published Sept. 15, 2009

Larceny is the most common crime that occurs on campus, according to the MU Police Department. Every week items are stolen from various campus buildings, MUPD Capt. Brian Weimer said.

Items, such as tables, chairs and sofas, frequently turn up missing from residence halls, Residential Life Director Frankie Minor said.

In some instances, the items reported missing are found and returned to the rightful place. Other times, the stolen articles are not recovered.

According to the Missouri Uniform Crime Reporting Program Web site, $28,792 worth of office equipment has been stolen from campus since the beginning of the year and $8,500 worth of it has been recovered.

Minor said so far this school year there haven't been any problems with furniture missing from residential halls, but it is a problem they often encounter.

"It's not uncommon that this will occur," Minor said. "Most often what we've found is that it's just temporarily borrowed. Usually we discover that it's missing, we put a call out to students saying please return it, and it usually shows up."

On the other hand, a television, barbecue grill and various pieces of furniture have been stolen and not returned.

"There have been situations in the past where it has been taken from campus," Minor said. "If you look at these as thefts, things that were taken and removed or sold, that's a fairly rare occurrence. We may have one or two incidences in a year. Situations where items are temporarily borrowed from a public space but just taken to a student's room, that happens with a little more frequency."

Items borrowed or stolen from residence halls might cost the school more than students might think, Minor said.

"Part of the challenge is not only is furniture in and of itself expensive, the grade of furniture that we purchase is a heavier duty grade made for frequent public use," Minor said. "The construction is often much sturdier. Some of those chairs can run $750 and the sofas can get well over $1,000."

Compared to property thefts, furniture thefts are incomparable, Weimer said. Larcenists who steal everything from textbooks to classroom supplies hit buildings all over campus.

At times, security cameras help police solve larceny crime. Minor said cameras are installed in some areas around residence halls but not in the residential areas.

Weimer said some buildings around campus have security cameras installed as well, but each department decides whether to install cameras.