Car thefts in Sacramento State parking lots this year have lefta hefty tab of $159,000 with victims, according to universitypolice.

The report, which outlines all reported parking lot crimes sinceJanuary, shows 29 cases of grand theft auto this year, with lastyear’s report citing 34 car thefts in 2002. This sum does notaccount for all vehicle-related crimes at Sac State &- justcases in which the automobiles were removed from the site.

Nearly a third of on-campus grand thefts occurred in Lot 8,according to police log summaries. Lot 8 is north of StateUniversity Drive and Highway 50.

More than $32,000 in stolen goods were reported, which includesthe theft of anything on or inside the vehicles, according to asummary log from the Sac State university police. Most burglarycases involved the theft of stereo equipment.

These vehicular crimes are too easily committed said freshmanJason Phoung.

“No matter how secure your car is, it can be burglarizedand be broken in to at any time here,” Phoung said.

Sac State ranked sixth in car thefts among California StateUniversities last year below L.A., Pomona, Northridge, Long Beachand Fresno.

The statistics at Sac State dwarf the numbers at nearby schoolsUC Davis and San Jose State University.

In 2002, San Jose State University saw eight grand theft autos,according to the SJSU police.

Twalla McCarthy, supervisor of records for the UC Davis policedepartment said that $113,500 dollars were lost in 18 grand theftsin 2002, a figure 30 percent less than Sac State’s.

UC Davis has a similar enrollment as Sac State, around 32,000for the fall semester, but has lower automobile crime numbersbecause its infrastructure and location, said an officer at UCDavis.

John Hamrick, an investigator with university police, said thatcar theft has less to do with location and more to do with the typeof car.

“The make and models stolen (on campus) reflect the makeand models being stolen in the Sacramento region,” Hamricksaid.

The Sacramento region ranks seventh worse in the nation for carthefts, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Hamrick said that police are constantly on patrol looking forpeople who do not belong on campus in order to avert criminals fromstealing or even damaging vehicles.

Another problem in campus lots is vandalism, with 32 incidentsat Sac State since Jan.1.

Outsiders are not the only individuals committing car crimes -students commit the crimes as well, Hamrick said.

On Nov. 11, two presumed students disputed over a parking spacein Lot 2, Hamrick said. After a verbal dispute, one of the studentsparked and went to class.

When the student returned, the vehicle had noticeable keyscratches on both passenger and driver doors.

Hamrick said that the police had a lead in getting the suspectand were trying to contact him, although the police are still notsure if he is a student.

“Our future plans include increasing the time we patrolthe lots to include more patrol hours during the hours ofdarkness,” Hamrick said.