Theft tops recorded crime on campus

“The biggest crime on Southern University’s campus is theft,”said Police Chief Dale Flowers of Southern University Police Department.
Theft is commonly committed by students, rather than outside individuals entering the campus.
The Southern University Police Department recorded 10 burglaries from forced entry and 9 thefts that occurred in the dormitories in this year alone.
“IDs, televisions and radios come up missing out of the dorm rooms most commonly,” said SUPD Police Officer Jocelyn Johnson.
A resident in Moore Hall believes students living in his dorm should secure their possessions to protect them from theft.
“When you leave the dorm you have to put the radio and television in the closet so they won’t get taken,” said Terrell Mouton, a senior in therapeutic recreation from New Iberia.
Last year the SUPD began installing cameras and getting more police to patrol the campus and the dormitories.
“We have cameras in Shade Hall and outside the Law center. Fourteen more will be put around the campus to record crime and as a deterrent for criminals,” said Flowers.
Theft doesn’t only concern police on the campus, but also the 2,551 individuals who reside in on campus as well.
“We need more police security because it is easy to get in and out of dorms, and there aren’t good relationships between dorm staff and students,” said Satterwhite Hall resident Christopher Adams, a sophomore biology major from Palluah.
Officer Albert McNeely believes that housing fees rise because of the increasing need for maintenance in the dormitories.
“The biggest crime on campus is theft, but the overall problem in dorms is damage to property.”
There have been 29 reported incidents this year of broken doors and windows and of other damaged property according to the SUPD.
“A great number of students who live in ‘the triangle’ have a fascination with trashing the place. They live there; I can’t fathom why they would want to live in that setting,” said Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Raymond Downs.
Chief Flowers is certain that students will be punished if they are caught committing a crime. ” They will be handled under Louisiana revised statute, and theft is a crime. Damage of property will be punished according to the amount of damage they cause.”
Although the housing department and physical plant clean up around the dormitories daily, they encourage students to help maintain the dorms and campus.
Downs suggests “If you have trash, walk out and throw it in the trash cans, or contact the housing director if they are not being emptied enough.”