Seven trucks were stolen from Mesa College parking lots over the last four months, a pattern that is apparently echoing throughout the city.
According to a San Diego Community College District Police Safety Alert Bulletin, the trucks were taken between May 2 and August 7. The trucks were mostly late-model years and were primarily Chevrolet Silverados. The vehicles were taken during both daylight and the early evening hours. All but two of the trucks were later recovered crossing back over the border from Mexico.
Lt. Jack Doherty of the SDCCD Police Department indicated that the recent thefts were part of a city-wide crime trend.
“One of our officers talked to SDPD, and there are a number of thefts of vehicles across all of San Diego; some have been recovered in border incidents,” Lt. Doherty said. “In one particular case, a vehicle was stolen from a different campus and later recovered after police chased the vehicle. The vehicle was returned to its owner who claimed it was not running properly. After taking the vehicle into the shop, $100,000 was found in bundled cash stored above the gas tank.”
Any suspicious behavior should be reported to Mesa College Police at (619) 388-6405, or, if needed, find an emergency call box on campus. Mesa student Bret Woelfel, 20, said that he isn’t quite sure where the emergency call boxes are located.
“I see those emergency call boxes on other campuses but never here; I’ve hearsdwe have them, though,” said Woelfel. “Students do bad things in these parking lots. There are spots on this campus that you can get away with (anything).”
Mesa student John Burroughs, 20, believed that perhaps issues other than parking security are a larger concern on campus.
“I don’t think security is a real budget priority over the new parking structure; we’re students, you know?” Burroughs said. “If you ask anyone here I bet they’d say they want more money to go to more parking instead of more security.”
Mesa students who park on campus currently pay a $30 parking permit fee that entitles them to park on the Mesa College lots. Although parking at Mesa is not “park at your own risk,” Mesa College’s Parking Policy does ensure students a “reasonable amount” of security. However, the policy does not guarantee the safety of students’ vehicles; nor does it guarantee students a parking spot.
“The average student that parks in the provided parking lot should assume the same amount of security.as they expect parking at Fashion Valley Mall,” said Lt. Doherty.
“Parking provided to Mesa students is funded by Mesa College. The State of California prohibits the use of educational money to be used on parking, so when maintenance is needed or a student needs to use our free lockout service – that costs money. Battery jumps, patrolling of the campus and a free shuttle service available at certain times of the year are all additional services that are funded by the parking pass fees,” said Lt. Doherty.
Doherty said that compared to Miramar and City colleges, Mesa had the highest number of vehicle thefts in 2005. Miramar College had 15 collective vehicle thefts, City College had 22 vehicle thefts and Mesa College had 27.
The difference, Doherty said, is that Mesa has more than double the number of available parking spaces than City and Miramar. Mesa has approximately 3,600 – 3,700 parking spaces, compared to City College at 1,200 – 1,300 and Miramar College’s approximate 1,500 spaces.
According to the latest “Safe & Sound” guide, a guide that lists crime statistics at local San Diego Community College Campuses, the Mesa College parking lots and the personal safety of the students at Mesa is comparably one of the safest in the city. In estimation, about 17 cars per every thousand are stolen from City College’s parking lot; Miramar has approximately 10 vehicles per every thousand stolen. Mesa College, however, has about 7 car thefts per thousand, much less than the other campuses.
If you see suspicious activity in any of the parking lots, Lt. Doherty recommends calling the campus police immediately at (619) 388-6405 or by using one of the four emergency call boxes located around campus. The call boxes can be found in parking lots 1, 2 and 3; and the handicapped parking lot across from the H-200 Building.
Doherty advises students to always lock their cars and not to confront a person forcing entry into a car or working on a car in the parking lot. If a student becomes locked out of his/her car, campus police provide a lockout service free of charge.