Stealing in Dorm Rooms

[luv2mickey]

How prevalent is the stealing? My oldest is in an apartment style and just the 4 girls have access to the apartment but my son will be in a traditional style coed dorm with 2 boys in a small room and the bath down the hall. What do we need to keep his stuff safe?

 

[Disney Doll]

Lock for the laptop to lock it to a desk or something.
Tell him to keep his door locked. Hopefully his roommate will too.

 

[NotUrsula]

Depends entirely on where you are and who has access to your room.

In a traditional dorm (especially a Freshman dorm) it is customary to leave your door propped open whenever you are hanging out in your room -- it is a time-honored method of making friends, just saying hi to someone who is visible in his room. Maybe he has a poster of something you also like, or he is playing a game you like to play .. anyway, it works.

Where the problem comes in is when people forget to close and lock the door when they briefly leave the room unoccupied. Things left sitting out are prime targets for the quick snatch. It is worse if the dorm has lax security, when people can walk in and access the residential areas without signing in. (One men's dorm that I remember from when I was a student had the main door to the first-floor rooms inside the TV lounge area; people would hang out ostensibly watching TV in the lounge, then jump to catch the hall door before it closed behind a resident, so that they could go looking for open rooms to grab something from.)

In apartment-style situations the problem that is most common is pilferage of smaller items such as jewelry, and cash/cc's from wallets. It doesn't take much time to "borrow" a suitemate's CC and make some online purchases while she's down at the gym, etc.

 

[beachta1]

How prevalent is the stealing? My oldest is in an apartment style and just the 4 girls have access to the apartment but my son will be in a traditional style coed dorm with 2 boys in a small room and the bath down the hall. What do we need to keep his stuff safe?

I think as long as you keep the windows and doors locked when you aren't in the room, you son will be fine. I would also suggest not leaving expensive goods and money in plain sight (ipod, cell phone, etc).

A lot schools at orientation or new student move-in will have public safety there to "mark" computers, bikes, etc with your initials. This way if its stolen on campus, you have something to show that is yours.

The college I work at has a pretty heavy "honors" code and many students do not lock their doors or cars and will leave their bags in the hallway before eating in the dining hall. While I don't think its the safest thing in the world to do, its sort of a silent understanding that your stuff is safe. I think getting to know a little more about the school and its crime rate will give you a good idea of what the school is like.

 

[tvguy]

Lock for the laptop to lock it to a desk or something.
Tell him to keep his door locked. Hopefully his roommate will too.

Only take what you need and keep your room locked.

My kids went to different colleges, and both colleges recommended desk top computers and a netbook instead of a laptop because laptop theft is such an issue, and folks don't seem to touch desk tops and netbooks. And generally speaking, a desk top and a netbook together will cost less than a laptop.

 

[laurafergie]

All my older kids took footlockers to college with a lock for it. They kept all small electronics and wallet stuff, etc..locked it it when they weren't there. Even at an honors Code heavy school (mine went to UVA and The Citadel) theft still happens. Also remember that the roommates "friends" are also not blameless.

 

[ksjayhawks]

I agree with a footlocker or a locking 2 drawer file cabinet. My son took a heavy duty locking file cabinet that has a cushion on top so it can also be a seat. Noone knows that it is also a file cabinet and locks. He keeps valuables in there and locks the door when he steps out.

Agree--don't take any more valuables than necessary. Get a lock for the laptop. Keep very little cash on hand. Set up an account at a local bank so he can withdraw cash as needed from the bank's atm.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

Stealing wasn't a big issue at my college and we rarely locked our doors when going down the hall to the kitchen or bathroom. A friend did have his Xbox stolen but honestly I think it was because his neighbors were tired of hearing his loud games all day and night.

We had no room at all for a trunk like PP's mentioned

 

[Art 1]

Mine have not had a problem as of yet.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My dd was in dorms and the sorority house and never had an issue. I think it depends on your living arrangements really & if your roommates are OK.

If you have room for a footlocker then great.

 

[luv2mickey]

Well he really won't bring much expensive stuff; a laptop, iphone, wallet and his PS3. I will buy him a laptop lock and a lock box I just hope he uses them.

 

[java]

Someone gave me a tip about a locked tool box and then use a bike lock or whatever to lock it to your bed. The only thing I am concerned about is his camera equipment. I wish he wasn't taking it- but he is. He has 9 roommates- that's a lot of coming and going.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

When my son was in his second year, he had a shady dorm mate. He hardly attended classes and had parties all of the time. One weekend when my son wasn't there the jerk had an open house party and half the stuff from the apartment went missing. Luckily, my son put a lock on his door and kept it locked when he wasn't there so nothing of his was taken.

Many times books and calculators are stolen to be resold.

You have to tell your kids to be careful and not to leave anything around.

My niece is at an Ivy League school and she had her jacket stolen.

My other niece had her laundry stolen from the dryer at her school (she attends a rich kid school).

So, it really doesn't matter where you go or who your classmates are, you should always keep an eye on your things.

 

[PizzieDuster]

I agree with a footlocker or a locking 2 drawer file cabinet. My son took a heavy duty locking file cabinet that has a cushion on top so it can also be a seat. Noone knows that it is also a file cabinet and locks. He keeps valuables in there and locks the door when he steps out.

Agree--don't take any more valuables than necessary. Get a lock for the laptop. Keep very little cash on hand. Set up an account at a local bank so he can withdraw cash as needed from the bank's atm.

Can you post a link where you got the file cabinet? Sounds perfect. My son got his laptop stolen from his room when his roomie always had people in it to play his xbox. He could lock his room all he wanted, or his room mate could open the door for social time. He has learned his lesson.

My youngest son is leaving in two weeks. TIA.

 

[LovesTimone]

A foot locker with a Good Lock/ heavy duty, also a small safe that will hold a lap top, extra keys, wallet, any electronic's, anything with personal info, ie Social Security cards, insurance, jewerly etc...

If he has a bike a really good lock, mark the bike and take pictures, of everything.
Make sure he knows not to leave his laundry unattended, they will take his clothing, especially towels in a dryer - laundry soap, dryer sheet, whatever is unattended or lying around, I don't think that most see it as stealing.. more of hey I need that so I will just take it with me.

Also with the bathroom at the end of the hall, If it is like a locker room style, get something that he can keep his shampoo, and soap, razor/ shaving cream that can go in the shower with him. My friends son was in the shower, and came out and someone took his towel and shaving kit off the bench right out side the shower, where he was at. So she went an bought a plastic basket, the kind you can use for putting cleaning supplies in, and her husband drilled holes in the bottom, so the water could flow out, so it could sit in the bottom of the shower, then she took his towels and put button holes in the corner, and added shower hooks so that someone would have to reach up and in the shower to take the towel. when he would do laundry he would just take the hooks off and then put them back on, worked great.


Even apartment style living, my DD lived in a share apt style dorm, 4 bedrooms with each their own bathroom within each room, and shared living room, and kitchen, We changed the lock on DD's door the 1st day, Food is another big thing, I would take DD to the store and her dorm mates would help themselves to whatever was there, even though the cabinet were marked with their names. So we bought a storage cabinet at Ikea for her to keep food, linen, towels, paper products etc.. We also bought a small frig. for her room. He room was tight, she had a day bed, dresser, desk, and storage cabinet and shelf's that we put up over the desk, but for her is was perfect, and she did not worry about having her stuff gone through or taken, which gave her more time to worry about important things, like what see was going to wear out that night

Its a wonderful time for them, but they need to be aware of what's going on around them.

 

[powellrj]

My DS never lived in a dorm, he went from commuter to fraternity house to apartment back to fraternity house. I have to say EVERYTHING was stolen. I bought him a bike lock and they stole the lock and left the bike. Clothes are the worst. Someone even stole his shoes. He has really nice clothes but I don't pay much for them because they just get stolen. I will have to say, its his fault. He was thrilled to be living in what was known at the school as the best house to party in and it comes at a price. I told him to move into a house with no parties and he told me he would just try to watch his stuff better than to move, if it were me, I would have moved.

 

[MrsPete]

When I was in school, I knew of some theft . . . but in every situation some stupidity as involved -- it was always a crime of opportunity; that is, something was left out and it disappeared. I remember one girl whose purse was stolen; she'd hung it on her doorknob while she was rearranging furniture and closed the door when she was done, essentially leaving her purse in the hall unattended. I personally had to learn the hard way that you can't leave an expensive textbook on the table while you go through the cafeteria line; oh, that was a hard pill to swallow. I knew of numerous situations in which someone left the door open, intending to be gone only five minutes, stayed gone an hour instead and came back to find something missing. I never personally heard of any roommate-theft.

I think the big deal today is that kids have more expensive items than we had. Literally no one had a computer when I was in school. Phones were all attached to the wall.

On one of our first college visits (at an information fair) I asked a police officer about crime on campus. He said that far and beyond the most common crime on campus is laptop theft, and it's always because the student has left it alone "just for a minute". That could be absolutely devestating to a student's grades: Loss of notes, loss of half-written papers, loss of contacts.

I haven't been involved with my daughter's towel-buying, her choice of bedside lamp and rug, etc. But I have helped her with some theft-proof items, my thoughts being that this is something she might not've considered on her own, and that losing some of her key "stuff" could cause serious trouble for some time. Here's what we've done -- only time will tell if it was well-planned or not:

- When we gave her her college laptop, we included a very bright distinctive sticker for the top (check out decalgirl.com -- we love their stuff and have been using it for years). I'm thinking that makes it just a little harder to carry it away -- it's distinctive, and thieves don't want to stand out. Sure, it could be removed, but it couldn't be removed in seconds.
- I bought her a laptop lock for use in the library, etc. These won't stop a thief from taking the laptop -- if he is determined to have that particular one -- but it will slow him down significantly, and when he's done he'll have a damaged laptop, which isn't particularly attractive to the thief. More likely he'd just move on.
- I bought her a small lockbox that can attach to her bedframe. It's big enough for her wallet and small electronics.
- Her daddy took close-up pictures of her valuables /recorded serial numbers, then put this information into an email that she can open anywhere, should she ever have the need.
- I talked to her about simply keeping things out of sight. I don't think it's likely that anyone will come into her room and actively root around through her closet in hopes of finding something valuable. She understands the crime of opportunity thing -- oh, wow, and ipod. It'll fit right into my pocket.

 

[java]

I agree with a footlocker or a locking 2 drawer file cabinet. My son took a heavy duty locking file cabinet that has a cushion on top so it can also be a seat. Noone knows that it is also a file cabinet and locks. He keeps valuables in there and locks the door when he steps out.

Agree--don't take any more valuables than necessary. Get a lock for the laptop. Keep very little cash on hand. Set up an account at a local bank so he can withdraw cash as needed from the bank's atm.

Do you remember where you got this? Sounds like a good idea.

 

[Buckalew11]

We bought a smaller safe. It is big enough to fit her laptop, iPod, etc. in if she needs to and I'll be purchasing a laptop lock. We'll also be doing the serial numbers and photos.

Be sure to check inot what ins. covers--your homeowners or special renter's insurance.

A few years ago, the college had a small kitchen fire that was quickly extinguished. However, when the the sprinkler system went off, it damaged a lot of personal belongings and those were not covered by their insurance!

 

[punkin]

DD has not had a problem with real theft, but her roommate taking clothes and shoes without permission was a serious problem.