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DAVID HARDEN/Arizona Daily Wildcat
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Communication freshman Kim Darre chats on her new cell phone yesterday in her Apache-Santa Cruz dorm room. Darre is one of many students who have reported things stolen from their rooms in the past month.
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By Caitlin Murphy
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday Feb. 7, 2002
Police suspect crimes have been committed by hall resident
More than a dozen thefts have victimized residents on the first floor of Apache-Santa Cruz Residence Hall in the past month.
Thirteen police reports were filed in January by residents who say their possessions - which include expensive items like laptop computers, televisions and CD players - have been stolen from their rooms.
Some smaller items, including cellular phones and wallets, were also stolen.
University of Arizona Police Department Cmdr. Brian Seastone said that while there are no suspects or leads at this time, it is likely a hall resident committed the crimes.
"There is no reason to think that someone outside of the hall has been committing these crimes," Seastone said. "If you are not a resident, it is simply too hard to break in," he added.
James Armitage, a former Residence Hall Association representative who lives in the hall, agreed that the crimes are probably internal.
"It's so hard to get around here because you need a key to access every door," Armitage said. "I can see where the problem comes in, especially if a resident wants to take a shower or something and they don't want to lock their doors and take their keys with them."
Apache-Santa Cruz is home to 349 residents, with all floors being single-sex except for one co-ed wing. The first floor, which has been experiencing the most problems, houses all women.
The rest of the dorm has remained mostly unfazed by the thefts.
Armitage added that although extra precautions haven't been taken, residents should be cautious to keep their doors locked.
"I left my door unlocked, which of course I shouldn't have done," said Kim Darre, a communication freshman whose cellular phone was stolen. "Because of that, I didn't report it to the police."
Anne Brooksher, RHA's vice president of campus affairs, said RHA officials and resident assistants are not allowed to comment on situations that occur within a dorm.
