Number of Thefts in River Houses Rises

Thefts on campus spiked over the past week in several of the River Houses, where items ranging from laptops to cameras to coats were reported stolen, police reports show.

On Sunday, the Harvard University Police Department received reports of three Apple MacBook Pros stolen from Leverett House G Tower, according to the public police logs. A North Face coat, a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses, and a container full of coins were also reported stolen from Leverett F Tower.

In addition, HUPD received theft reports from residents of Mather House on Jan. 26 and Jan. 31, Dunster House on Jan. 28, and Quincy House sometime last week.

Ginny C. Fahs ’14, a Fifteen Minutes Magazine editor, said her suite in Quincy has been broken into multiple times this academic year. According to Fahs, she and her roommates had their belongings stolen from their room in November and again in December shortly before returning home for the winter break.

“All in all, we've had three laptops, an iPad, an Xbox, and a lot of alcohol stolen,” Fahs said.

HUPD spokesperson Steven G. Catalano wrote in an email to The Crimson on Monday that in almost all of the incidents of theft, dorm room doors were either unlocked, propped open, or taped to prevent them from locking.

Mather House Co-Master Michael D. Rosengarten confirmed that the laptop stolen at Mather was left in a dorm with the door propped open.

Neither Dunster House Co-Master Roger B. Porter nor Leverett House Co-Master Howard M. Georgi ’68 would provide specific details regarding the crimes.

“I don't think that it would be appropriate for me to comment on the details while the HUPD are still gathering information,” Georgi said.

In his statement to The Crimson, Catalano emphasized students’ responsibility in keeping their own belongings safe.

“When leaving their own rooms, residents should keep the room and/or suite doors locked at all times, even when going down the hall for only a few minutes,” he wrote.

“Residents should not hold an outside door open for strangers or allow strangers to ‘piggyback' on their access card.”

—Staff writer Caroline C. Hunsicker can be reached at carolinehunsicker@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Daniel R. Levine can be reached at daniellevine@college.harvard.edu.  Follow him on Twitter @danielrlevine.