Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: Opinion

It's tragic that Penn's most common crime is also the most preventable.

Despite the Division of Public Safety's Theft Awareness Program, thefts from buildings have skyrocketed, increasing over 150 percent from last year.

And a large portion of these thefts - over 60 percent - are of unattended property.

There's only so much that DPS officials can do. It's time for us to play our part in fighting theft-related crime.

We'd all like to believe that students can leave their computers at Van Pelt for a brief moment without worrying if they'll disappear.

We'd like to believe that our property is secure.

But the reality of the situation is that it isn't. Students can take common-sense steps - like locking room doors, securing belongings in libraries or study rooms and never leaving items unattended - to help bring down the rate of thefts.

It's an inconvenience, but it beats losing a $2,000 laptop and a semester's research.

DPS could do more to identify the causes of this increase in thefts of unattended property and to determine whether the perpetrators are mostly students.

In the meantime, though, the only foolproof way to prevent unattended theft is to stop leaving property unattended.

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