Show stations attract number of crimes l R r w 1 TZ Photo by Adam Heath fall victim to station car burglary Commuters who ride park-and-ride may x W Cassie Newman Contributing ng Writer According to the UTA Transit Public Safety semiannual semiannual semiannual semi semi- annual crime report for stations located in Utah at least 32 vehicles have been reported stolen within a period In addition during the months of April and September of this year there have been reports of more than 90 vehicle burglaries Based on these reports there is an apparent trend showing a slight increase in vehicle crimes during the summer months The it w tt F I I statistics for vehicle related activity in the month of October and thus far in November have not yet been released Cars parked in parking lots are crimes of opportunity ty especial I an owner leaves something of value on the seat or in insight insight insight sight of a window said Chief Ross E. E Larsen Utah Transit Authority UTA Police Department The two most targeted vehicles include the Honda Accord or Honda Civic As a result of the increased burglary and t it tt J criminal activity occurring in UTA parking lots UTA representatives have decided to take action The UTA Police Department is now no implementing tightened security to help prevent further burglaries and the thefts from occurring They are passing out vehicle safety cards to passengers and several patrol cars are being assigned to frequently monitor parking lots looking for suspicious activity In Traz Continued on P Page ge 5 t. t I i Continued from Page 1 f 1 addition undercover police officers and surveillance are being used to h help lp monitor some of the parking lots Although UTA is currently making changes changes' to help increase the safety of their parking facilities not all passengers believe that their efforts are sufficient Just last week my window was shattered and items were stolen out of my car from the parking lot ott said Mark Stoker student and passenger I have also spoken with several other people who have had their cars recently broken into There needs to tobe tobe tobe be additional monitoring of the parking lots or else this type of activity will continue to increase UTA feels that with the help of the public the number of burglaries and thefts can decrease We Ve ask students and other passengers that ride and perhaps see something out of the ordinary to say something Passengers can report any suspicious activity by calling alling EYES a hotline that allows passengers to to speak directly with the UTA Police dispatch said Larsen |