A string of five home invasions in Mary Markley Residence Hall Saturday night and Sunday caused the Department of Public Safety to caution students moving out of their residence halls to lock their doors at all times and not leave their belongings unattended.

Over the weekend, Markley residents reported numerous items stolen, including two wallets, two cellphones, a backpack, a purse and a set of keys. None of the victims could give suspect descriptions.

DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown said she is unable attribute a reason for this string of robberies but added that there is currently heavy traffic in residence halls due to student move-out. She said residents need to keep track of their possessions as they leave the residence halls.

"There's a way to (move out) so you always have someone looking after your belongings," Brown said.

Brown said this year's move-out saw an rise in crime compared to previous years. But she said DPS officers are still patrolling the residence halls and that there are no plans to increase security as students move out.

"They've already been in a heightened state of awareness," Brown said.

The five home invasions this weekend represent only one phase of a disturbing crime wave on campus this semester. DPS has issued fourteen crime alerts since January, as opposed to eight during Fall 2001.

Eleven of this semester's alerts occurred after the second week of February, when DPS and University Housing implemented new security initiatives in residence halls. The initiatives included round-the-clock locked entrances and patrol increases.

Despite the escalating number of crime alerts, Brown says she feels the security increase played a significant role in fighting crime on campus.

"The access program did make a difference because certainly these crimes were reduced in number," Brown said.

When this academic year's crimes are added up, it should not be much different from last year's numbers, Brown said. She added that she believes the reason so many alerts came out this year was because more victims are seeing and reporting suspects.

"These perpetrators seem to be bolder and brasher and don't make any effort to hide their identity," Brown said. "(The number of crimes) will probably be a little higher, but not considerably higher."

DPS and University Housing are currently working together on a report in regards to increased security recommendations for residence halls. Some of their requests could include security cameras, door monitors and increased daytime patrols, among other things. They plan on presenting their report to the University Board of Regents next month.