Burglaries In Presidents Park

By Broadside Correspondent Gordon Day

Over the last few weeks of October and the first week of November, a string of robberies occurred in Presidents Park. The losses have run from money stolen from a wallet to several thousand dollars worth of electronics. Police are still looking for suspects.

The first of these recent thefts occurred October 21 in Jefferson Hall and involved $6,300 worth of various electronics.

A week later, on October 28, a wallet with an estimated $150 in cash and several personal effects were taken from Monroe Hall.

Then, on November 7, Monroe Hall was hit again, and $45 was removed from a wallet. According to authorities, these crimes were not connected and were not the responsibility of a gang.

“The problem with these types of crimes is the lack of a witness,” said Major George Ginovsky, the assistant chief of police. While serial numbers can be tracked, cash almost never reappears.

Ginovsky also said that these thefts are “not sophisticated.” He thinks that the thieves are simply looking for rooms with open doors. When a door is closed and locked, the person simply moves on to the next door. These thefts are just “targets of opportunity.”

The key, said Ginovsky, is prevention. The two things that need to be watched are leaving unattended items in areas such as the Johnson Center or Fenwick Library and locking the door to your room, even when one is sleeping.

Ginovsky also added that people on the first floor should close and lock their windows. “If you do these two things, you should be OK,” said Ginovsky.

Ginovsky said that George Mason University has “a low crime rate” and that assault and robberies occur rarely. According to the George Mason Security Report 2008, there were zero weapons arrests in 2007, nine cases of burglary and only one case of robbery in 2007.

Olivia Damico, a resident of the afflicted Jefferson Hall, responded to thefts.

“I feel pretty safe, I just lock my door, even when I take a shower,” said Damico.

Will Bellows, a resident of Adams Hall in Presidents Park, summed up the mutual feeling with, “I feel personally safe, but I am worried that I may have my stuff stolen.”