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vehicle vandalizing reports rise in October

Although 39 vehicles have been vandalized during October, SIUC Police Director Todd Sigler said this incident is not indicative of a new trend.

Automotive vandalism more than doubled from September to October, but more than half were vandalized during one incident in Lot 62 behind Wright Hall.

In what Sigler called an "exception" to the norm, 22 cars had their windows smashed in and tires slashed overnight Oct. 10. No items were reported stolen.

"Until that happened I would say that we had a lower number of occurrences this year compared to last," Sigler said. "But that's not an excuse. One time is too many if you are the victim."

Sigler said the incident was disappointing, particularly since officers have stepped up parking lot patrols lately.

But Penni Jess, whose 2002 Chevy Caviler was scratched and smashed among other things, said the incident has forced her to question police.

"They always say they are patrolling the lots, but they were asking us for time frames," Jess said. "If they had come into the lots at any point in the evening they would have seen it. It's a little hard to miss 86 flat tires. It takes a while to vandalize 22 cars."

Sigler said he understands Jess's frustration, but said limited resources prevent police from monitoring everything that happens in a single night. Before the mass vandalism, Sigler said Lot 62 reported almost no incident.

"It gets patrolled," Sigler said. "But is it always going to deter, probably not. We try to budget our resources by plotting patterns of incidents. When we plot geographically, if there is 30 in one area and 1 or 2 in another, I'm going to put more people in high-incidence areas."

To help as eyes when officers can't, Sigler said he is looking into the possibility of funding for cameras in University parking lots. Ideally, cameras would be in place "as soon as possible," but Sigler is weary of attaching a time period in case a funding emergency pops up.

"Video surveillance would just be one more tool in the toolbox," Sigler said. "But those are real-life dollars and cents decisions that we aren't always able to make."

Sigler also noted that although incidents of vandalism get all the limelight, it is important to keep in mind the number of crimes deterred by police presence.

"When officers pull into a lot they are in a squad car, they are highly recognizable," Sigler said. "So the question we don't have an answer to is 'How many do we also prevent?'"

 

 

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