Within the past few weeks, several cars in parking lots around campus have been broken into, resulting in damages and stolen property in most cases and outright auto theft in one case. No arrests have been made in response to these crimes.

According to a media crime report, the first incident occurred on September 12, sometime between 7:30 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. The car was parked at the University Commons and suffered some damage as a result.

Four other cases occurred on September 15, according to the media crime report. The first was believed to have occurred between 9:45 a.m. and 11:22 a.m. in J Lot. The car was broken into and had some property stolen. The next car involved was parked in S Lot and was broken into sometime between 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. later that evening. Property was also stolen from this car. Two other vehicles were victimized at Colony Manor. The first theft occurred sometime between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 a.m. The second car didn’t have anything stolen from it, but a window was smashed between 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. the next morning.

The stolen property included a wallet, a stereo, and a radar detector, according to Director of Public Safety Chris Denninger.

On September 18, a car belonging to RIT student Blake Deberto was actually stolen. “I just went outside to go to my car to go to the store, and I was just walking down the sidewalk, and it wasn’t there,” said Deberto. His initial reaction was “disbelief... Maybe I just parked in a different spot, maybe I’m just not looking at it right,” but after searching for ten minutes in the Southeast Perkins lot, Deberto realized that his car was gone.

After alerting Public Safety, Deberto’s case was deferred to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department. As of yet, his car has not been returned.

There is one possible suspect to the cases. According to Denninger, one individual was apprehended by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department for theft at Park Point two weeks ago. “We feel pretty confident that that person was involved,” said Denninger, “but we have no solid evidence.” The suspect has not confessed to any of the incidents at RIT, but after this person was apprehended, Denniger noted, the auto break-ins stopped.

However, if more auto break-ins do occur, Denninger said that Public Safety will “size up the data” they receive from reports, looking for possible patterns. “If a pattern occurs during these times and days [the incidents happen], we bolster security during those times,” said Denninger. Denninger also offered some advice. “If people have things like a GPS, stereo, or radar, keep it out of sight.” He added that if thieves don’t spot valuable objects through a window, they tend to move on. Denninger asked that if any suspicious activity is seen in parking lots, such as someone walking around inspecting cars, or a car repeatedly driving around empty spaces, to inform Public Safety. Public Safety’s Emergency Line can be reached at (585)-475-3333 (v/tty). “If someone takes note of suspicious behavior, we’ll go over and check it out,” said Denninger.