UNA police Chief Bob Pastula said he was shocked when he first came to Florence two years ago and learned how many theft and burglary cases occur at or near campus.

Theft and burglaries, the two most widespread crimes at the university, have steadily increased in recent years, officials said. Police report more than $12,500 in stolen property at UNA since May, and Pastula believes the number of thefts may continue to rise at the start of the new semester.

“Times are tough, and theft is a crime of opportunity,” he said. “The opportunity presents itself and people will take advantage of it. (Theft) does increase when school starts back, so we tell students to lock their doors. The more people lock, the better off we all are.”

Pastula said most on-campus thefts and burglaries take place in the parking lots and garages, residence halls and at Collier Library, where students either leave their vehicles and dorms unlocked or their personal belongings unattended.

Last month, UNA Police installed cameras and placed patrol officers in the library to help cut down on rising theft. Pastula said they will implement a 24/7 communication center in the new police station at Keller Hall in October and work to bring more security cameras to campus.

College textbooks, laptop computers, GPS devices and other high-dollar electronics are the most frequently stolen items at UNA, officials said. David Shields, vice president of student affairs, said theft is one of the simplest and easiest crimes for students to commit.

“We often give people an easy opportunity to steal our stuff,” he said. “Still, students feel very safe here, but if you feel too safe, you can become complacent. We try to preach to students to lock their doors, engrave their stuff, lock their cars and practice good safety.”

UNA currently offers services such as the Student Nighttime Auxiliary Patrol, rape defense training, Lion Alert notifications and the option to be a silent witness to make the campus safer.

Despite available resources to help students feel more secure at the university, many college students are hesitant to report crime for a number of reasons, said Jeff Clifton, a police officer at UNA.

Clifton worked burglaries in the Alpha Tau Omega and Kappa Sigma houses earlier this year, where thousands of dollars in items were stolen from both properties. He said many on-campus thefts are a result of costly fraternity pranks.

“Young adults are less inclined to report (crime) if they feel it wouldn’t help or aid in recovery, or they may simply just not like the police,” he said. “Also, they feel less responsible for some of their possessions because they can just ask their parents for a replacement.”

UNA junior Selena Springer spoke with The Flor-Ala in April about her experience with on-campus theft and burglaries. She said the lack of security cameras at UNA is dangerous for students.

“I don’t feel safe in the parking deck especially because there’s no cameras,” she said. “I’ve had several friends who have had their cars broken into there and there was nothing the police could do about it because there were no cameras there to prove what happened.”

Even Pastula’s son, an undergraduate student at a Florida university, has had three personal computers stolen at his own college campus. During SOAR orientation this summer, Pastula warned parents and new students to be aware of potential crimes on campus.

“We are trying to get the word out to students,” he said. “99.5 percent of crimes happen when students leave their doors unlocked. We’re encouraging students to lock their doors and hide their stuff.”