By Ericka Pultorak | Observer Contributor
Karen Kolimaga, Chief of Campus Police and Public Safety at Mount Wachusett Community College, finds the increase in crimes on campus to be a result of the decrease of economic wealth around the country.
According to the 2010 Annual Safety and Security Report MWCC is pretty quiet. On the Gardner campus alone, four burglaries occurred, also, there was one drug law violation. These offenses are an increase to previous years according to Mrs. Kolimaga. This is kind of an odd situation because the crime numbers are up but there really aren’t that many crimes. Kolimaga explained that because the Mount is sort of set outside of the city, city crimes don’t really end up on campus. However, because of how bad the economy has been over the years people are getting increasingly desperate. This is where the larcenies come in.
Karen Kolimaga deals with about 10 to 15 larcenies every year and these numbers are increasing as the public’s general wealth decreases. She even specifically said “The biggest thing we struggle with is larceny.” Many students just leave their bags for “two seconds” or will have someone else look after their bags. Both methods she finds to be reasons why students get their possessions stolen. Karen Kolimaga said “Don’t depend on somebody else to watch your stuff.”
In order to prevent thefts the police team put up posters last year around the school. They have also tried to make the students aware of places such as bathrooms and lunchrooms where the thefts normally take place. Specifically, Mrs. Kolimaga recommends bringing your things into the stall and making sure your bags aren’t left anywhere unprotected. Also, make sure the things in your car aren’t visible or are at least covered up.
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