O'Collegian: Larceny biggest crime in the Big 12

O'Collegian: Larceny biggest crime in the Big 12


Larceny biggest crime in Big 12

By By Chelsea Jensen Staff Writer news@ocolly.com

Not only is larceny OSU’s most common crime, it is the most commonly committed crime at every campus in the Big 12 and has been for several years.

Lt. Mark Shearer at the OSU Police Department said larceny is a crime of opportunity.
“In talking with people who have committed some of these crimes, they will tell you that typically they would not have done that but it was there, and for some reason, they just took advantage of the situation,” Shearer said.

Larceny is the unlawful taking, carrying, leading or riding away of property from the possession of another without use of force or violence.

Larceny is different from burglary because larceny occurs when a person has a legal right to be someplace and takes something that does not belong to him or her, Shearer said.

Burglary occurs when a person enters a location where he or she is not authorized to be for the purpose of committing a crime or taking property that does not belong to him or her.

Factors that affect the statistics include campus sizes, student enrollment and proximity to metropolitan areas. Commander Tim McGraw at the University of Colorado in Boulder said in a telephone interview that the Boulder campus can’t be compared with any of the other Big 12 campuses.

“There are 4 1/2 million people that are within a stone’s throw of the Boulder campus,” McGraw said. “That’s not the case in Ames, Iowa; Stillwater, Okla.; Lincoln, Neb., or Lubbock, Texas. They are just different environments. Campuses don’t stand alone; they are part of the larger community.”

Shearer said any kind of electronic devices are high theft items, such as cell phones and computers. Other commonly stolen items are bicycles and textbooks.

“Textbooks are probably one of the highest valued theft items here,” Shearer said. “At the end of the semester, when everybody’s preparing to complete finals and be done, those books are gold to somebody.”

Shearer said larceny cases can be difficult to solve depending on each case’s circumstances.

To prevent becoming a victim, Shearer said students should do the things their parents taught them.

“Know where your stuff is and don’t leave it unattended,” Shearer said. “If you’re going to be away from your room or your residence for any period of time, make sure you secure the door.”

McGraw said don’t leave money and jewelry open and available for people because it reduces the opportunity of becoming victimized.

Shearer said OSU needs to reduce its crime statistics to become the safest university in the Big 12.

“Right now, the only crime statistics that everybody really has control over is the larceny and burglary classification,” Shearer said.

“If we can collectively work together, if we could reduce that, we could actually again become the safest university in the Big 12.”