Georgetown campus and neighborhood are relatively safe, but crime isn’t unknown: 820 property crimes and 83 violent incidents occurred last year, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

The island of misfit laptops

The most common type of crime on most college campuses is property theft. Based on our analysis of the weekly campus crime report, thefts of laptops from Lauinger Library and bikes from on-campus racks are the main targets of would-be Hilltop larcenists.

The biggest part of preventing petty theft: don’t leave your valuables unattended. Laptop theft dropped a little after the Department of Public Safety apprehended three persons suspected stealing laptops in Lau, but sporadic incidents continued into May.

As for bikes, remember: U-locks with steel cuffs are the best, and always lock the front wheel. Otherwise, thieves will strip your bicycle and leave its denuded corpse on the rack (like this, or this).

We also recommend students register their bikes. (Bicycle registration, which was required in D.C. until 2008, is potentially the only way to recover a stolen bicycle.)

Another common property crime against students is GOCard fraud. Merchants rarely check the picture I.D., so it’s easy to steal debit dollars. If your GOCard ever goes missing, deactivate it on the website.

Afte the jump, Vox tackles burglaries, street crime, and sexual assault.

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According to a public safety alert sent out by the University this morning, an unknown person or persons burglarized the house of a faculty member on the 1700 block of 35th Street at about 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 2. The perpetrator apparently entered through a second-story window, and stole a laptop computer from the home. No other property was reported missing or damaged.

The matter is being investigated by the Metro Police Department, but the Department of Public Safety asks that anyone who may have information on this matter call (202) 687-4343.

At 7:10 p.m. today, a staff member entered his office in the New Research Building on north side of campus to find that it had been broken into and burglarized. An undetermined amount of cash had been stolen. The thief entered through the locked office door. MPD responded to the scene.

There is no description of the suspect. Anyone with potential leads should contact DPS at (202) 687-4343.

Two more laptops were stolen this week, according to a University public safety alert.

After a female student fell asleep shortly after midnight on Monday, an unknown suspect broke into her Harbin dorm room and stole her laptop. Another student, who lives in Alumni Square, discovered that his laptop was stolen sometime between 10 p.m. on Tuesday and 4 a.m. on Wednesday.

In both cases, the residences’ doors were not locked.

6:30 p.m. update: The University issued a public safety alert about the burglary, confirming it occurred in the Car Barn.

According to the alert, the suspect is described as a short, black male. The suspect was seen wearing a blue coat, carrying a large backpack, and riding a red mountain bike.

Original post: A laptop, digital camera, and video camera were stolen from the an office building on the 3500 block of Prospect Street between Sunday and Monday morning.

According to Metropolitan Police Department Officer Abigail Hughes, “an unknown tool” was used to force open the office’s front door between 11:10 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. Once inside, the unknown burglar (or burglars) forced open additional doors and stole the electronic equipment.

Although University officials have not confirmed the location of the burglary, the Car Barn is the only office building located on the block.

On Wednesday afternoon, a student’s laptop was stolen from his Darnall dorm as he slept. Since Sunday, seven laptop thefts have occurred on campus.

According to a public safety alert, the student left a door “unsecured,” which allowed an unknown suspect to enter the room and steal the laptop. There were no signs of forced entry.

14 on-campus laptop thefts have been reported to the Department of Public Safety this month; a total of 27 have been reported this semester. Three other laptop thefts were reported in University-owned buildings on Wisconsin Avenue, while another theft occurred on the 1400 block of 37th Street in September.

On Wednesday at 6 p.m., a Copley Hall resident discovered that his dorm room had been burgled earlier in the day.

According to a public safety alert, the resident left his room at 3:30 p.m. without locking the door. When he returned, his X-Box was missing.

The Department of Public Safety has not yet identified any suspects.

Yesterday, the Department of Public Safety was notified that small amounts of cash were stolen from two offices in the Medical-Dental building on separate occasions.

According to a public safety alert, an employee noticed that $60 was missing from a petty cash drawer; the employee had previously learned that money was stolen from an adjacent office on November 4. There were no signs of forced entry at the scenes.

DPS has not identified any suspects.

4 p.m. update: The burglary occurred in Village A, according to a Public Safety Alert.

The student entered his apartment at approximately 9 p.m. and discovered “his apartment had been burglarized and his laptop stolen.” reads the alert. When the student left the apartment earlier in the day, the front right window was open.

This is the sixth reported burglary (or attempt) in Village A since October 16.

Original post: A burglar stole a laptop from an on-campus residence on Tuesday.

According to Metropolitan Police Department Lieutenant Victor Braschnewitz, the unknown suspect “appeared to have entered” the dorm room through an unsecured window between 2:30 p.m. and 9:10 p.m.

This burglary is the latest in a string of laptop thefts that have occurred since mid-October; the crimes have largely concentrated around the Village A apartment complex. Last week, Stephanie Lynch, director of Residence Life, and Joseph Smith, associate director of the Department of Public Safety, announced security changes in Village A to combat the problem.

This is the first reported on-campus burglary since Lynch and Smith announced the changes.

The Department of Public Safety and the Metropolitan Police Department are stepping up their presence near Village A following the rash of burglaries over the past few weeks in the area.

In an email sent on Friday to Village A residents, Stephanie Lynch, director of Residence Life, and Joseph Smith, associate director of DPS, announced that more officers will patrol Village A during the overnight hours. In addition, DPS will increase its patrols of the perimeter of the apartment complex.

“New security observation posts will be staffed on Prospect Street and Library Walk,” wrote Lynch and Smith, who added that “enhanced lighting features” will also be installed in and around Village A.

According to multiple student reports, DPS officers have also begun to conduct “courtesy checks” in Village A. While walking through in the area at night, the patrolling officers allegedly asked the students to present their GOCards. Safety awareness posters that read, “See something? Say something!” have also appeared in Village A in recent days.

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