Auto theft at Skyline has never been a long-running problem in our community. In the past, acts of vandalism or theft have been reported, however, prior to this semester, a trend in automobile crimes has never been an issue.

All of that has changed during this past semester. The security office has released a report warning of a series of automobile thefts having taken place on campus. While the thefts appear to be specifically targeted at Hondas modeled from 1990-2000, vehicles have been vandalized ranging from Chevrolets, Toyotas, and Volvos, making it impossible to predict who or what exactly is being singled out as the target of these crimes.

Items that are being reported missing from the vehicles include mostly smaller things such as parking permits. However, larger items have been reported stolen as well, including in-dash stereo systems and in two cases the entire vehicle. The driver-side window was the point of entry for most of the vehicle thefts reported.

Skyline’s Interim Supervisor of College Security, Tommie Phillips, offers a number of suggestions to students to help them avoid having this sort of vandalism happen to them:

·Remember to park in visible lots, especially at nighttime, not all parking lots are as easy to access as others are, parking in visible lots will help reduce the likeliness that your car will be broken into.

·Secure your vehicle, at least one of the incidents reported confirmed that the entry point for the vandal was the driver side door being unlocked. Simply making sure that your doors are securely locked and that all valuable items are securely hidden out of sight will help to ensure that nobody will feel motivated to enter your vehicle.

·Avoid suspicious people and activities, if something does not seem like it belongs, it probably doesn’t. Stay away. Suspicious activities should be reported immediately to your campus security office or local police station.

·Look out for each other. Remember, security officers cannot be everywhere at once, and the system only really works when everybody works together to help. If you see a car being broken into or activities that do not seem right, let somebody know. Reporting a crime as it’s being committed only ensures that further crimes are not given the chance to occur.

If anybody has any information regarding auto thefts, or would like to report a crime in progress, they may contact the security office at (650) 738-4199.