Several burglaries and thefts from unlocked vehicles have been reported to the Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) since late July, according to an AlertSU sent on Thursday.
This notice contains the details of crimes reported from Aug. 14 through Thursday but makes reference to crimes reported in two other AlertSUs, which were published earlier in August with details of crimes reported from July 28 through Aug. 14.
Together, the three reports describe 17 vehicle burglaries that have taken place since July 28, in addition to several other vehicle-related incidents, including five vehicle thefts and the recovery of a stolen vehicle.
The decision to send the most recent AlertSU stemmed from an increase in vehicle burglaries, SUDPS spokesperson Bill Larson wrote to The Daily.
Larson added that in response to the increase, SUDPS has posted signs in “various parking locations on campus encouraging the removal of property (valuables) from the vehicle, locking of doors and to report suspicious activity.”
SUDPS has also “increased patrols of the parking lots and parking structures on campus day and night by our deputies and security personnel.”
Apart from two incidents that occurred between July 28 and Aug. 11, the three AlertSUs did not contain suspect information. The two suspect vehicles were described as a black Nissan Rogue SUV and a red Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV.
The alert urges those with information to call SUDPS at (650) 329-2413 and those who observe suspicious behavior to call 911. Examples of suspicious behavior include individuals loitering around vehicles, looking underneath or into vehicles, trying door handles and lying underneath parked vehicles, as well as activated car alarms, according to the alert.
A fourth AlertSU notification sent on Wednesday morning reported two additional incidents, both of which took place on Aug. 31.
According to the alert, an unknown suspect burglarized a vehicle between 2:45 and 3:30 p.m. at the Stanford golf course. Furthermore, a reckless driving incident occurred at approximately 3:45 p.m. After a SUDPS deputy spotted a vehicle seemingly connected to an Aug. 25 burglary, the driver of the vehicle violated traffic laws and began driving recklessly despite the deputy’s attempt to stop it for code violations.
The vehicle in question is a black four-door 2006 Lexus IS 250 with the license plate California 5VOK956. A picture of the vehicle is attached to the AlertSU.
This article was updated to include information from an Aug. 31 AlertSU email.
Contact Evan Cheng at evcheng ‘at’ stanford.edu.