Students returning from winter break may have had a nasty surprise waiting for them when they returned to Ann Arbor.
Between Dec. 23 and Jan. 4, at least nine student homes were invaded, said Adele El-Ayoubi, head of crime prevention at the Ann Arbor Police Department.
Some of the break-ins involve d forced entry, such as broken windows, but others resulted from students leaving their doors and windows unlocked.
An unlocked window on the 800 block of Church Street led to a break-in, and a thief also kicked open an apartment door on the 1000 block of East University Avenue.
El-Ayoubi said many of the break-ins were accompanied by thefts. A laptop was taken from one residence, computer software was missing from another and a third victim reported 20 missing DVDs.
Fraternity house Sigma Phi Epsilon was also broken into. Fraternity president Scott Cohen said the house was under periodic watch over break and DVDs and a laptop computer were noted missing after New Year’s Eve.
“We think it was mostly the homeless, because we had some cans left over in the basement and they took all of those,” Cohen said. “It’s a pretty unfortunate incident, but we’re lucky that nothing else was stolen.”
The residents in several of the homes have not yet returned to Ann Arbor, so it is unknown if anything was stolen, El-Ayoubi said.
She added that because many students were out of town, the break-ins were reported by other residents. One break-in was even reported by a snow-plowing agency, she said.
The best way to prevent a break-in is to make a habit of keeping your doors locked, keep your valuables hidden and away from open view and not to leave your doors propped open, particularly in the residence halls, said Lt. Crystal James of the Department of Public Safety.
If a break-in occurs, the resident should call the police immediately and make a report so that the police can begin an investigation.