Burglary off campus leaves residents wary

For Boston College juniors, the appeals of off-campus living are numerous: having a house, and paying rent is a refreshing break from dorm life. Yet, roommates Kial Blumenkopf, A&S '09; Tracie Swartzbaugh, A&S '09; Lauren Bender, A&S '09; Libby O'Toole, A&S '09; and Krista Capece, CSOM '09, encountered some of the risks that come with off-campus living this weekend.

According to a Boston Police Department report, the residents left their apartment at 56 Greycliff Rd. at about 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 and returned at 12:30 a.m. After some time in the house, the residents discovered a series of items missing, which they later reported to include a Mac laptop, an Hewlett Packard laptop, $800 of U.S. currency, and assorted jewelry.

Officers arrived at the apartment at 12:48 a.m. Blumenkopf, Swartzbaugh, and Bender gave the police a description of a suspicious man seen earlier near the site; he was characterized as a "white, non-Hispanic male, thin, brown hair, around 40 years old." The residents explained that he was seen in between their house and that of their next-door neighbors at approximately 5 p.m. and that he had "gotten into a small green pick-up" with "small tires and decorative stickers."

Upon further investigation, and with the help of an additional two officers, police on the scene concluded that there was "no sign of forced entry." As all the windows and doors had been left closed and locked, the absence of any disturbance "suggested that the suspect may have had a key."

Blumenkopf, however, said that she and her roommates have other ideas. In fact, they only heard about the suggestion of the burglar having a key through a report dropped off to them by the Boston College Police Department. Instead, they suspect that the offender may have entered through one of their windows, which, by nature of its style, will only lock on one half. This suspicion, in addition to the events of last weekend, has naturally caused the women to be "more careful than ever," Blumenkopf said. "Every time we see a car outside we don't recognize, we take down the license plate number. Even when our air conditioning makes a strange noise, we all jump out of bed."

They regret that they have been unable to place dead-bolt locks on their doors, a supposed fire hazard, because the ability to lock each bedroom door individually from the inside would provide them a greater sense of security following the robbery.

A secondary concern and disappointment, said Blumenkopf, is that District 14 Police have yet to follow-up with them since the initial event last weekend. The girls said that lack of follow up is particularly worrisome to those from whom jewelry was stolen, as it may now be too late to attempt to retrieve any of it from pawning and resale. When the roommates called BPD, last Saturday, to see why no one had come by, they were told that they would hear from an officer shortly. As of yet, no word.

Despite these complaints, Brighton Police, as BCPD Sgt. Joseph Desmond explained, have "primary jurisdiction" in off-campus cases. "BCPD takes a supporting role," he said. Detective Arthur O'Connell of the Brighton Police department said of the same subject that BPD and BCPD interactions are "always cooperative," aimed at the common goal of maintaining students' safety.