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MHCC parking lots victimized by car-jackers
The Advocate
Imagine coming out of class to find your driver’s side window broken and an empty space where your laptop used to be.
According to a Gresham Police Department report, in 2010 there were 75 prowls and 31 thefts at the MHCC central campus; in 2009, it was 47 and 25; in 2008, it was 71 and 16 and in 2007 the numbers showed 73 and 23. Items most commonly stolen from vehicles were GPS units, stereos and purses.
Caryn Shetterly, crime analyst for the G.P.D., commenting on the downward spike in 2009, said, "There is usually no one specific reason we can associate with why certain months or years might have sudden drops in criminal activity. There are a lot of factors that are changing all the time."
“Places like Mt. Hood are targets because they have large amounts of cars parked there. Thefts are lower at high schools, like Gresham High and Barlow, because they have less cars on their property,” said Shetterly.
An average 33,000 students attend Mt. Hood each year, according to the college website. The closest campus to MHCC, PCC Southeast, home to more than 9,000 students, had only a single theft between 2007 and 2009. PCC Sylvania, with more than 26,000 students, had eight between 2007 and 2009. Clackamas Community College, serving an annual average of 34,000 students, had three from 2007 to 2009. Clark Community College in Vancouver, Wash., had 18 from 2007 to 2009, 10 of which were in 2009, with a student population of 16,000.
According to the continuing 2011 MHCC Public Safety crime log, May has had the most vehicle thefts, with three and no specific center for activity. The 2011 year shows less than five break-ins per month. One February statistic stands out: in one day, three cars windows were broken. In one instance, a jacket was stolen; in another, $2 was taken.
According to Public Safety reports, Lot A is the area of the college that, year after year, bears the most criminal activity, with 32 incidents last year involving break-ins or vehicle thefts. Wayne Feagle, lead public safety officer at MHCC, suggested one reason for this might be that Lot A is one of the largest on campus.
Under the condition that he remain anonymous, an East County resident who said he was at one point involved in more than 20 vehicle thefts per week in the Gresham area agreed to an interview.
According to the source, no place on the MHCC campus is safe. “Yeah, they’ve got cameras in a few spots, but that only helps if you’re dumb enough to do it without some kind of hat or something. They have campus patrols, but there are only a couple of them on duty at a time, and they have no idea what’s going on. You can try and park your car in a heavily populated area, but it could just as easily be taken from there because no one expects it.
Feagle said, “Hearing stuff like that is a huge concern to us, but there were several times that campus security cameras have helped us apprehend criminals, so not all of our efforts are failing.”
“We have had several instances where someone will come back to their car after class and two people will be sitting in it having a natural conversation. The thieves will see someone coming and just act like it’s their car and it would have worked if that person wasn’t the owner,” Feagle said. "Those individuals are often caught, but sometimes they run off before we can get them. We do not advise students to get into physical altercations with someone in their vehicle."
MHCC Director of Safety and Security Gale Blessing said, “We report all of our break-ins to Gresham police. Students who experience a break-in or theft should contact public safety.”
Shetterly said, although there is not a department within Gresham police which handles vehicular crime, “We have a division that is devoted to property crime. If there is a pattern of crimes that are committed with the same M.O. (method of operation), we will put a detective on it.”
“If we start seeing more activity around the college, we do call and let them know about it, but we (GPD) will also pay more attention to that area,” said Shetterly. “There is definitely communication between the agencies.”
Starting in early 2011, the college bookstore began selling The Club, a car and truck anti-theft device, at a discounted price. “We’re actually working directly with the manufacturer to get them for the lowest price we can. Students can buy them for $13,” said Blessing.
“We encourage students to do all the usual things to keep their vehicles and possessions safe while on the campus,” Blessing said. “We have several papers and a small brochure available in the Public Safety office, containing tips for where to park your car and what thieves look for. It breaks our hearts when someone comes in and says, ‘I left my doors unlocked and now my laptop is gone'.”
"We have the Students on Patrol, which is a new program that started a couple terms ago. There haven't been any incidents where a volunteer has directly contacted a suspect, but there have been several where they have used their radio to contact the office to report suspicious individuals. So they are already having a positive effect," said Blessing. "But there are always several things people can easily do when leaving their vehicle parked in on the campus: roll up their windows, lock their doors and only bring to school things they intend to carry into class with them."
“We are concerned about the property crime problem, of course. But one thing we are very proud of is the fact that we have very little person-on-person crime here” said Blessing. “Our goal is to make this a safe campus for everyone. By and large, we are succeeding.”
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