Ten different offenses of grand theft auto have occurred thissemester on campus, which puts the loss at nearly $46,000,according to a report from the University Police.

Ranging from $80 to $2,200 each, the loss due to automobilelarceny this semester – including anything from stereo equipment tobikes – totaled $9,500 the report also said.

“We can’t be everywhere – there are thousands ofcars,” said Donny Myftavo, a community officer with theUniversity Police.

Of those thousands of cars, 72 have been broken into andburglarized since the beginning of September, according to thereport.

During the day, up to six community officers are on patrolaround the campus, said John Hamrick, investigator with theUniversity Police. In the evening, four officers patrol thecampus.

Myftavo said he is constantly on patrol around various parkingstructures. However, community officers can not take any action:they can only call in and make reports because “they areprimarily the eyes and ears,” said Hamrick.

Myftavo said if students use common sense, their vehicles areless likely to be broken into or vandalized. Simply keepingexpensive items and equipment out of view is a primary precaution,he said.

“There’s a lot of hot spots,” Hamrick saidlast month after a series of auto break-ins.

But the mercury is lowering with those “hot spots”this year, as the total number of automobile thefts for 2003 isless than half of 2002’s number, which stands at 34,according to University Police statistics.

The incidents have occurred at various parking lots andstructure locations with no real danger zone standing out, said thereport.

Student John Leung said that he has had no problems or concernsregarding his car, and he has been driving to school for nearlythree years.

Leung said he doesn’t have any alarms or clubs, andregular locks on his doors and rolled up windows suffice.

Hamrick said having security devices on cars such as Lo-Jack areproper precautions to take. He said to “park smart” byavoiding dark lots and isolated areas.

Hamrick said that reporting any auto theft and larceny crime isvital because trends can be seen and tracked.

As a region, according to the National Crimes Insurance Bureau,Sacramento ranked seventh in 2002 in the nation when it comes toauto thefts.

Hamrick said that two arrests possibly relating to automobiletheft were made on Nov 5. Although the individuals have not yetbeen linked with a specific case, they did have theft tools such asbolt cutters possibly used to make a forced entrance.

The individuals also had stolen items in their possession.

If you are a victim of vandalism on campus, call the Hornet at(916) 278-5567.