Throughout the day, students use the Library and Tivoli building as a place to study. Textbooks, laptops, pens and papers are spread out across tables as students focus on homework. After sitting in the Tivoli for an hour observing busy students, nine students had walked away from their laptops and other personal belongings. Most were gone for five to ten minutes before they returned to their seats. In this time, thieves could have had the opportunity to swoop in and steal their personal belongings before they returned.

Metro student Alec Stoncius had left his backpack and laptop at a table while he was in the bathroom. Fortunately when Stoncius returned to his desk, his laptop was still sitting where he had left it.

“I try to be as quick as possible and if I need to go to the bathroom, I’d rather risk it then bring everything with me,” Stoncius said.

Other students like Max Wellsmith haven’t been as lucky. Wellsmith's orange running shoes and cell phone were stolen from him while on campus last semester.

The first incident occurred in the locker room in the Event Center.

“I had them in a locker and when I came back the next day, my lock was busted off and my bright orange running shoes were gone,” Wellsmith said.

The other theft occurred with a charging locker in a computer lab.

“I had used them before and had thought I had went through the correct protocol, to make sure I put a combination on it. I came back within ten minutes and the locker was open and my phone was gone,” Wellsmith said.

Many students like Stoncius and Wellsmith leave their belongings alone not realizing how frequent theft occurs on the Auraria Campus.

“Theft is a crime of opportunity, so if an opportunity poses itself, a crime is usually going to occur,” said Sherri Feldt, Communications Supervisor for Auraria Campus Police Department.

Some items that are targeted include laptops, cell phones and textbooks.

The Auraria Campus AHEC website includes an online crime blog where reported crimes are posted. The majority of the crimes mentioned on the blog are theft related.

“How often thefts are reported to us is typically at least one to two every couple of days. It’s pretty high,” Feldt said.

Those are just the thefts being reported. She believes the number not being reported is fairly high as well.

The main buildings hit by theft include the Tivoli, the Event Center and the Library. However any big open space shared by students on campus could be targeted.

Unlike other buildings that have two main access points, the Event Center has many different entrances, making it a big target for theft.

“On average we have anywhere from 20 to 30 thefts a semester that are actually reported,” said Tony Price, Director of Campus Recreation.

The Event Center has taken actions to minimize this theft by installing a premium video surveillance system in the gymnasium, main corridors and at all entrances and exits.

“This new system has really provided us an opportunity to get a lot more detailed footage of potential subjects or criminals who are involved and then we work closely with the Auraria police department to review that footage so that we can assist them in solving cases,” Price said.

Locker rooms in the Event Center are available for students to store their belongings while they workout, but some don’t fully take advantage of this.

“Students are pretty surprised when their stuff goes missing, but a lot of times what happens is they choose to put it in a locker without a lock,” Price said.

While using a locker and a lock helps reduce the chance of theft occurring, thieves will still find a way to break in if they see expensive items. Just like the case with Wellsmith and his missing cellphone and shoes.

“I was trying to be safe with locks in both instances and in both instances they didn’t work,” Wellsmith said.

Price has advice on how students can make their valuables less visible in the lockers.

“I joke around and tell people to put their old funky socks, t-shirts and stuff over a lot of their valuables and if possible not to bring in laptops or really high dollar items into the facility if they can help it,” Price said.

The biggest amount of theft reports occurs at the beginning and end of the semester.

“Typically your most seasoned criminal will come to the building at the beginning of the semester because they know there are a lot of new students that are here and those students may not be completely aware of their surroundings and where they put their stuff or how they lock their stuff up,” Price said.

“And then we see a little bit at the end too and I correlate it with when textbooks can be exchanged for cash. We’ll start to see reported thefts around book bags missing and books being taken.”

If a theft does occur, students can report it to the Auraria Campus Police Department .

“Our detectives work in conjunction with the Denver Police detectives and these new applications people have on their phones for tracking has been helpful in the last year,” Feldt said.

The more information a student has on their stolen item, the better the chance of it being found. Having the serial number will help the police track down stolen electronics as they are often sold to pawn shops.

The chances of finding a stolen item is low as many of the reported items are never recovered.

“High price items are really hard to recover, especially if [the thief ] wants it for personal use," said Feldt.

Even when the thief is captured on video, there is a long process the police must go through to try to retrieve the stolen item.

“I’d say that less than 3 to 5% of people actually get their stuff back, if we’ve identified [the thief] on video,” Price said.

Usually thieves only care about the high price items and will discard the rest, so if a whole backpack or purse was stolen, students are told to look in trash cans or bathrooms near where the theft occurred.

“Students may recover some of their items and that’s about 30% of the time,” Price said.

Feldt has some advice for students on how to keep their belongings safe.

“Always keep your belongings with you, especially if it’s something of value or something you value. Take it with you, don’t leave it behind, even though you’re going to be gone for a second or are turning your back,” Feldt said.

“Always make sure your possessions are within eye of you or on you.”

To see what thefts and other crimes are occurring on campus, check out their Crime Logs.

Ways to prevent theft:

• Always take your belongings with you; never leave them alone
• Always have an eye on your expensive items and keep them close
• Put your items in a locker and use a lock
• Make sure to cover expensive items with clothes
• Be aware of your surroundings