Repeated off-campus break-ins affect GCSU and local community

Bethany Williams, a senior rhetoric major at GCSU, doesn’t have to imagine what it would be like to have her house broken into – she has experienced it.

Last December, while on winter break, she was told that someone had apparently broken in to her house on Irwin Street in Milledgeville. The burglary was discovered after neighbors reported a flooded yard. Upon closer look, doors and windows were discovered to have been forced open and inside everything of value had been stolen. The flooded yard itself was due to the fact that the thieves had even taken the washing machine.

“It was scary and I was overwhelmed,” Williams said when recalling the experience.

The landlord provided new utilities, but Williams and her roommates’ personal belongings were lost, probably for ever.

“You never think that something like this will actually happen to yourself. It felt strange,” Williams said.

This would not be the end of the burglaries – far from it. Not once, not twice, but three times since the first incident, thieves have returned to the house. After last summer, the backdoor was found open after a weekend out of town.

“The lights were turned on and it was a real mess inside,” she said.

At the third and most recent break-in, occurring only weeks ago, Williams’s roommate’s windows were forced open and two DVD-players were stolen. Since then, the house itself has been spared. However, William’s car has been emptied of her GPS, her iPod, as well as several CDs.

Williams said that the area in which she lives is not considered a unsafe part of town at all.

“There are a lot of teachers and even a judge living in the neighborhood,” she said.

As for the assistance from Milledgeville police, she said that she found them negligent and nonchalant. Not until after having demanded to speak to a detective after the third incident was Williams told that her house had, in fact, been subject to several break-ins over the last 10 years.

“I think the landlord should’ve informed us about this right from the start,” she said. She also said she thinks that police should have mentioned this history of break-ins to her after the first incident.

A lot of burglaries occur when people are away for an extended period of time. Therefore, Milledgeville police are offering residents the option of signing up for a security watch service for these occasions. An officer will then pass the registered residence to make sure that everything is in order. This is a service that Williams wished she and her roommates would have been informed about after the first incident, not the third, she said.

Milledgeville City Police Deputy Chief Malone said he could not make any comments on a specific case, but advised students to take photos of valuables and also, if possible, write down serial numbers in order to easily identify stolen objects. He further stressed the importance of contacting police as soon as possible and to avoid entering a house or apartment before it has been secured by an officer. “It is for your own safety,” he said.

Sergeant Greg Williams with GCSU Public Safety encourages students, even those living off campus, to contact his department in case of burglary.

“We have more resources than the Milledgeville City Police in these cases. Our sole purpose is to serve and protect the students. The city police has responsibility for Milledgeville in general and often has a much greater case load than we do,” Sgt. Williams said.

When asked what to do in order to minimize the risk of a break-in, Sgt. Williams mentioned the importance of helping each other by being good neighbors, keeping your eyes open, and to avoiding leaving valuables visible.

“If you have window blinds, it might not be a bad idea to use them when away. Also, don’t brag,” Sgt. Williams said. “The number of break-ins on campus is comparatively low, and the last incident, occurring at West Campus, was probably because someone was bragging about a large amount of money,” the sergeant said.

Bethany Williams said that she loves Milledgeville and still feels rather safe, but adds that she has an impression that she’s fighting a loosing battle and she is considering changing residences. “After all, it’s actually quite funny: We moved off campus to save money, but we have, in fact, ended up paying more because of everything that has been stolen.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 9 2009. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry