Many Ohio University students returning to their off-campus housing before the Spring Semester kicks off Monday might be shocked to see their TVs, DVD players or other belongings have gone missing.
The number of reported burglaries tends to go up in Athens when students leave for breaks, authorities said, but the Athens Police Department has yet to hear of the full extent of reported break-ins and burglaries from winter break.
“We usually don’t witness the results of the break until we are in the first or second week back, usually the first week,” said Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle.
“We won’t know (the extent) until the middle of this week.”
He added that there isn’t a trend of large spikes in such reports when students return, and he hasn’t heard of any reports yet.
“Five or six more for that week. It is noted that it does happen on occasion,” Pyle said.
The items most often stolen from houses over break are electronics and other valuable commodities, Pyle said, adding that the perpetrators typically forcibly enter the property from a back door or window.
“It’s almost always on an unoccupied structure, structures that are vacant for the break,” Pyle said. “That’s why before the break we try to advise people to take their valuables home.”
Anyone who notices their property has either been broken into or had items stolen from it over the break can request to file a police report at the Athens Police Department, 11 N. College St.
as299810@ohiou.edu
@akarl_smith
