LHS is the No. 1 school in the district for police-related activity.
School Resource Officer Mike Cobb said LHS is followed by Liberty Memorial Central Middle School then Free State High School when it comes to police activity. And often, that police activity is the result of thefts.
Ninety-five students had items stolen from them at school last year. The majority of those stolen items were cell phones, iPods or MP3 players and cash.
Junior Elsa Regan was one of those 95 students. During a pep assembly last year, Regan had her iPhone 4s stolen out of her flute case in the band room.
“I was sad,” Regan said. “[I was also] worried about what my parents would think because it costs so much.”
Senior Kelly Song also had an item stolen from her. Song accidentally left her North Face jacket in the hallway after lunch. When she came back, her jacket was gone.
“I was really worried and shocked and mad at myself for leaving it out in the hallway,” Song said.
Both of these situations were “opportunity crimes,” as Cobb calls them. This means the item stolen was not in a locker or secured place, therefore the thief took the “opportunity” to steal the unsecured item.
While Song was able to have her jacket returned to her after seeing a girl wearing it in the hallway, Regan never found her phone.
“It’s still a mystery,” Regan said.
Most of the crimes each year occur in the only places in the school without cameras — locker rooms and bathrooms. Despite the lack of cameras within these areas, SRO’s can still catch thieves in these areas by looking at cameras stationed outside these locations during the time period of the theft.
“We have a pretty good security system,” Regan said. “It was my fault for leaving my phone out.”
Regan advised students to, “make sure everything is locked up. I tell my friends to keep their phones and items close. I always ask them, ‘Do you have your keys? Do you have your phone?’”
Song also has suggestions for keeping your things safe.
“Use your locker,” Song said. “And make sure you talk to one of the officers [if you lose something] so they can help you find it.”