The Syracuse University Department of Public Safety, in a joint investigation with the Syracuse Police Department, has identified one or more persons of interest in connection to recent thefts in academic buildings on campus.

Personal and university property was stolen from buildings between the Quad and Waverly Avenue, said Ed Weber, senior detective with DPS. The items taken include laptops, cell phones and change. Weber said whoever was responsible also rummaged through individuals’ belongings.

The thefts began at the end of January, with most of them occurring after 10 p.m., which is after business hours for the university, Weber said. He added that DPS believes the thefts are all connected based on the timeframes and type of items that were taken.

Weber said some of the items taken were personal items and others were SU property. Items were stolen from both staff and students, he added.

Some thefts occurred over weekends and DPS wasn’t notified until Monday, Weber said. Many of the thefts occurred during hours in which academic buildings are locked, and Weber encouraged anyone who sees doors left open after hours to report it to DPS.

“We noticed some forcible entries in certain offices in these cases,” he said. “So if you see something on the door that looks unusual, give us a call.”

DPS sent an email on Feb. 4 offering tips for building security and for avoiding potential theft.

“The reason we put the email out is because we felt the community should know what’s going on,” Weber said. “With this info out, we might get more calls about people seeing something suspicious.”

People may hesitate to provide tips as they fear they might be offering insignificant information, Weber said. But sometimes the smallest suspicions can help solve a case.

Said Weber: “They think it’s silly, but we might say it’s just what we needed. The littlest tiny thing they might think is suspicious, they should give us a call.”

Published on February 6, 2014 at 12:25 am

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27