Riley Cooper, MEng ’24, wasn’t surprised to find the window screen of his University District home torn down.
Cooper’s port, Nintendo Switch, bike, and speaker were stolen from his home on Dec. 24. Already down the street handling another break-in, Cooper reached out to the Kingston Police for assistance following the event.
“I was annoyed this happened to me and disappointed that the holidays were now a little worse off. After that, I was definitely a bit down on the monetary loss,” Cooper said in an interview with The Journal.
Cooper wasn’t the only victim of theft that night. Police told him several break-ins were reported in the University District on Christmas Eve. Perpetrators gained entry to students’ homes through unlocked doors, or by forcing entry through doors and windows, the Kingston Police said in a statement to The Journal.
The Kingston Police were unable to provide the number of University District break-ins reported over the winter break in time for publication.
During the investigation, police took fingerprints from Cooper’s home while he filed a police report. He hasn’t heard from the police since that day.
It makes sense to Cooper w burglars would target homes in the University District over winter break. Most of students go home for at least two weeks during the holidays—between Dec. 22 and return around Jan. 8—leaving their houses in Kingston unoccupied with personal belongings vulnerable to theft.
“Somebody’s going to be like ‘Oh well, there’s less people here.’ It makes sense, but it upsets me a little this is still happening,” Cooper said.
To protect students like Cooper, the AMS employs house checkers over winter break. Their mission is to check student homes for signs of break-in, ensuring all windows are closed, back and front doors are locked, and tenants’ mail is collected.
The program is successful at ensuring home security over the holidays, Julian Mollett-Hill, AMS commissioner of external affairs, said in an interview to The Journal. Of the 61 households who signed up for the program, two houses were found with their doors unlocked by house checkers. The landlords of the properties were informed of the potential break-in.
“If the program runs again next year, then sign up. It’s no cost, and always helps to just be a little more safe over the holidays,” Mollett-Hill said.
To prevent future break-ins, Kingston Police is requesting students lock all doors and windows, including those in the basement, before leaving their houses. Curtains and blinds should be closed so valuable items aren’t on displayed.
Additionally, the police encourage students to record serial numbers of items purchased and catalogue valuables kept in Kingston over the winter break so they can be tracked by the police if stolen.
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