After his Wednesday afternoon class, University of Memphis student Tim Givens found the driver window of his Honda Civic smashed and his car radio stolen.
“It looks like they shoved a screwdriver into the door lock first,” the 22-year-old said. “It’s a pretty big hit.”
Between the window and radio, Givens said he’s out nearly $600.
“I would have never though this could have happened in broad daylight,” he said. “Especially during a time when people are leaving and entering the parking lot.”
Givens parked in the Central Avenue lot and attended class between about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. He said police told him this is the first time in a while that a car was burglarized in daylight.
“Unless they install some cameras, I won’t feel safe anymore,” he said.
Last year, 19 cars were burglarized at the U of M, according to the campus crime report produced by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Thieves have stolen from at least four cars on campus since Jan. 1, according to police reports written by U of M Campus Police Services.
Derek Myers, the Assistant Chief and Director of Police Operations, said there were 38 theft from vehicle and theft of motor vehicle parts reports last year. Only three of these cases were cleared when an arrest was made.
“Traditionally, more burglaries happen during the day, because there are more cars out here during the day,” Myers said.
“Sometimes we recover the property, but I’m not sure how much, if any, we recovered last year. Often when we catch car burglars, we know they committed multiple crimes, but can only clear those we can prove they committed.”
Myers said there are cameras in lots where upgrades have been made.
“We were able to add the infrastructure, like electricity and Ethernet, to the upgraded lots and we are consistently adding to the 700 plus cameras on campus,” Myers said.
Michael Logan, 29, had a MacBook Pro stolen from his vehicle on Jan. 1. The laptop was later returned by someone who claimed a friend found it in the back of a truck.
“An initial officer report was filed on the first of January,” Logan said. “A campus officer followed up. I wanted to know what really happened, but the only lead relied on the person who brought my laptop back. I had the option of continuing the investigation and pressing charges, but I decided to just let it drop.”
Logan’s vehicle was parked in Lot #15-A on Southern Avenue.
Another break-in took place in Lot #15-A on February 13 around noon. The investigation was never solved.
On Jan. 21, a report was filed when a student saw a man near his car in the Living Learning Center parking lot and hit the panic button. The only thing that appeared to be missing was loose change.
On Feb. 3, a license plate was removed from a car parked in the Pan-Hellenic Lot.
In 2014, 18 cases of theft from motor vehicles were reported with no clearances. Theft of motor vehicle parts gathered 27 reports with two arrests.
The best thing someone can do to prevent motor vehicle theft is to keep valuables out of sight, said Myers.
“Use anti-theft measures if students have them, like locking doors, turning on alarms and other things like that,” he said.
