Taylor Clark, a senior physiology major, parked her car outside University Tower on Sept. 9 around 7:15 p.m. when she walked outside about 30 minutes late, her car had been broken into.
The incident occurred at the UT residence hall parking lot.
“I came back outside (from talking to my friend) and my passenger window was completely shattered,” Clark said. “I looked inside my car and realized that my purse was stolen.”
Inside her purse, Clark said she had a planner, iPad, portable iPad keyboard, a psychology textbook and a school notebook.
She called the San Diego State Police Department who sent an officer to write a report on the incident.
Later on that night, Clark said she received a phone call from an unknown number. She answered the call from a woman who said she found her purse on Alvarado Road. The woman was able to contact her because her phone number was written in her planner.
Clark said she met with the woman and retrieved her purse and planner, but her other belongings were still missing.
That night she said she called her phone carrier and locked her iPad.
“The next morning I wake up at 6 a.m. to a notification on my phone telling me my iPad is now online,” Clark said. “I use the (Find iPhone) app to track my iPad and it’s quickly moving to different locations. It stops at Mission Valley, so my mom and I drive to its supposed location, which was a random office.”
After looking for her iPad for an hour, Clark said she received a text message from an unknown number.
“It was a guy saying that he had just bought my iPad off a homeless guy at the trolley station,” she said.
Clark said she met with the man and was able to get her device back, but is still missing her other belongings.
The crime against Clark is one example of crimes that occur at SDSU.
Last year in August there were three reported burglaries, two car thefts and one robbery according to the August 2015 San Diego State Police Department monthly police report.
In July of 2016, there were six burglaries and one robbery, but no reported vehicle thefts according to the monthly police report.
The statistics for burglaries, robberies and motor vehicle theft for the month of August have not yet been reported.
The statistics show crime has gone down this year in comparison to last August.
Jasmine Polloni, senior English major, said she noticed crime go down this semester, but is still concerned about her safety on campus, especially at night.
“I believe my first and second year, I constantly received crime reports via email from the school,” Polloni said. “I feel like SDSU is a great campus, but like any open campus with people coming from all over the place, there is always going to be the issue of how safe an environment it is.”
Senior theater, film and media studies major Constantine Samios said he feels men are more safe on campus because they are not targeted as much.
“I feel safe against sexual assault, but I can see why females may not,” Samios said. “There have been recurring instances in the past that could scare a few people, but when it comes to theft, no matter where I am I never let my valuables be left unattended.”
Crime around SDSU and in the San Diego County has gone down in comparison to July 2015, according to the Automated Regional Justice Information System.
Within the past year, motor vehicle theft was the highest in July 2015 with 605 reported thefts. In July 201 there were 451 vehicle car thefts reported in the county.
