Unauthorized Entry results in Cautionary Message
March 5, 2009 No CommentsJen Noel
Staff Reporter
On February 26, 2009, a homeless man was apprehended by Campus Safety officers after entering the unlocked back door of a Pennsylvania Avenue house. The man in custody was later criminally charged by the Department of Campus Safety.
At around 2 a.m., a man was seen trying to enter the front doors of Decker Center. After watching the man, who was unaffiliated with the college, struggle with the locked doors, Campus Safety told him to leave the premises.
The perpetrator then walked down toward the Pennsylvania Avenue houses and tried to enter house where the back door was locked. He moved to the house next door, and found the door unlocked, and entered the residence. Campus Safety immediately took the man into custody.
This incident has sparked a cautionary message from Mike Webster, Director of Campus Safety.
“Each year we account for hundreds of incidents where we have to remove props holding doors open in residence halls,” said Webster. “I am certain that at least one third of Pennsylvania Avenue houses also leave their doors unlocked.”
According to the Office of Postsecondary Education, since 2005, McDaniel College has had 2 robberies and 16 burglaries on campus, and 16 burglaries in residence halls alone. In the year 2007, all 3 burglaries that occurred were without forced entry.
Although the incident that occurred this time did not end in theft, Webster warned that this occurence can be a lesson learned about the necessity to take precaution and lock doors when leaving a building.
“This is not a matter to take lightly,” commented Webster. “We need to be proactive in these situations, many times an incident like this could be prevented if doors remain locked.”
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