By Tara Conry

Students living in Liberty and Republic halls are sleeping with one eye open after a series of thefts reported in the dorms this past month.

Laptop computers and DVDs are among the missing items and the victims are saying the robberies are no practical joke.

Costello locked his door upon leaving his room on the first floor of Liberty last Friday night, and when he returned Saturday afternoon the door was still locked, but his computer was gone.

He immediately filed reports with Public Safety, Residential Life and the Nassau County Police.

“I brought my surge protector to be fingerprinted,” Costello said. “The police found one good fingerprint, but they told me I wouldn’t know anything until weeks.”

Nassau County police are investigating the crime.

When sophomore psychology major Molly Behrens returned to campus on Jan. 10 she discovered 13 of her 29 DVDs she left in her dorm room during the break were missing from their appropriate cases. Behrens roommate, Katie Tauchles, also said four of her DVDs were missing.

City of God, Animal House, Willy Wonka, American History X and Dirty Dancing were among the movies stolen by a thief who chose not to tamper with Behrens’s special edition Lord of the Rings, but escaped with Lilo and Stitch and Mean Girls. Behrens other personal possessions, such as jewelry, were bypassed by the thief.

“I used to feel safe,” Behrens told the Public Safety officer who assisted her in filing the report. “He told me that I was still safe, but I disagree, this could have occurred while we were sleeping.”

Behrens was also disappointed at the failure of Public Safety and the Residential Director to educate other residents about the theft, adding that the initial response of Public Safety was that one of Behrens’s friends was playing a practical joke.

“They were slacking,” Behrens said. “They didn’t put up fliers in the dorms about the thefts until the laptop was stolen.”

John O’Malley, assistant director of Public Safety, said the University does not send out notices unless a pattern develops or a physical attack occurs. The Nassau County police only became involved after the laptop was stolen because Costello filed a report with the 3rd Precinct, while Molly declined the option.

In Costello’s report he stated his door was locked when the laptop was removed from his room. Behrens is also confident her door was locked and windows secured.

“We had the locksmith check the locks and it is improbable that they were picked,” O’Malley said. “But there is an active investigation at this time.”

Detective Boyle of the Nassau County police is heading the investigation, but could not disclose any details.

Public Safety is studying the locks on both the doors and windows, and also questioning whether any keys were reported missing from Public Safety or Residential Life. Since the items were stolen during intercession, a period when many students opened their dorms to guests, O’ Malley is also reviewing the guest sign-in sheets for the weeks the thefts were reported.

O’Malley said lost property is reported everyday, but this is the first time that multiple thefts have occurred within a single dorm within a small time frame.

“Although this is a safe environment, there are opportunists who if they see something they want they will take it,” O’Malley said.

He encourages students to lock their doors and kick the habit of leaving doors propped open.