Theft in the NIU community has increased 70 percent and theft arrests in DeKalb have increased by 12 percent according to the DeKalb and University Police annual reports.

The most common theft on campus is bookbag theft, because everyone knows bookbags contain “the student’s daily activities,” said Ken Kaiser, UP officer.

The bookbag is the closest thing to “instant cash”, since a person can sell back textbooks for half price, Kaiser said.

Many of the bookbag thefts occur at the bookdrop in the bookstores and at the library, he said, adding people should use the lockers if one is available.

Thieves do not limit their illegal activities to places away from “home,” Kaiser said, pointing out the residence halls also receive visits from burglars.

The residence halls should be considered “an apartment complex, not just their (students’) rooms,” Kaiser said. Thieves can walk through the different floors and into empty rooms, taking valuables, he said.

The UPs are trying to educate the NIU community, especially the new students, to look out for other student’s valuables, Kaiser said.

The best locks for houses and apartments are deadbolt locks from an inch to an inch and one half wide, and a good jam to insert the bolt into, said Ron Pearson of the DeKalb Police Department. Spring activated bolts can be carded or jimmied, Pearson said.

If a doorway has a glass window, a lock on the inside will make the door “tamperproof”, said Bruce Melin, owner of Melin’s Lock and Key, 100 E. Locust, DeKalb.

Lights, radios and televisions can be put on timers when people go on vacation, giving the appearance someone is home, Pearson said.

If traveling, people should not “advertise” long trips, and the cancellation of mail and newspaper deliveries can help avoid pile-ups outside doorways, which might hint to a potential thief that the occupants are not home, he said, adding a “good, nosey neighbor” watching the house can help prevent any break-ins.

Apartments are “big” with burglars, especially ground level and sub-ground level apartments, Pearson said.

Windows and patio doors need to be secured with locks and “charlie bars”, long pieces of wood or metal used to keep patio doors from sliding open, he said.

If bicycles are going to be kept outside, the bikes need locks that cannot be chiseled through, and the locks must be secured around the front and back tires, as well as the frame.

A thief can take the wheels off with a wrench if they are not secured with a lock, he said.

“Stay away from chain and padlocks because they can be cut through so easily,” he said.

The best way to control theft is to “be intelligent and alert” and be aware of the different methods thieves use to steal, Pearson said.