Despite recent arrests by the Department of Public Safety for various campus crimes, security problems in residence halls persist.

DPS posted two crime alerts yesterday for incidents that occurred earlier in the day.

The first crime took place when four men attempted to steal a television from an unlocked, occupied room on the second floor of East Quad Residence Hall.

The suspects were described as white college-aged men, two of whom were about 6-foot-3 and two who were about 5-foot-10.

The victim, an RC senior who wished to remain anonymous, said he was awakened when the suspects unplugged a cable from the television, causing static to come on the screen. At first, he was unsure what was happening, but he said the suspects walked out of the room, as if they had been "caught in the act." He also said he thought they were intoxicated.

He followed the suspects into the hall where they returned a baseball cap and a small hand drum to the resident. But they ran off before the student could ask for their identification.

"I tried to get information to find out who they are," he said, adding that they split into groups of two and left.

Afterward, he called DPS officers who responded very thoroughly and quickly, he said.

"They were there within three or four minutes with two officers," adding that the officers talked with him and searched the building for the suspects.

The student, who said he had a laptop stolen from his room two years ago, said he locks his door all the time when he leaves and usually about half the time when he is sleeping. He said he plans to lock it all the time now when he sleeps but is not overly concerned about the incident.

"It's just kind of a thing when drunk people seem to wander in the rooms," he said.

RC freshman Alyssa Cassard, who lives in the hall where the attempted crime took place, said she and her roommate had always felt fairly safe in East Quad but will now be a little more cautious with regard to security.

"I'm sure we will be, although we usually make a point of locking our doors."

The second incident occurred in Bursley Residence Hall between the hours of 4 a.m. and 6:50 a.m. when unknown suspects entered four unlocked occupied rooms and stole personal property, including three laptops. DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown could not offer any more information last night.

These are the third and fourth crime alerts DPS has issued for incidents in the residence halls this year. There were two home invasions in Mary Markley and West Quad residence halls in October. Due to a wave of home invasions and "peeping tom" incidents last winter, DPS approved new security initiatives for University Housing last spring, including video cameras at all entrances and automatic door locks. The process of installing the new technology started this fall and is expected to continue over the next two years.

The victim of yesterday's crime said he feels the new locks and cameras will be beneficial for the residence halls.

"The biggest difficulty with keeping the residence halls safe is that anyone can come into the building," he said, adding the new cameras will give DPS officers more aid in investigating crimes. "It will allow for them to check if something happens."