In 2022 the most vulnerable location to motor vehicle theft on campus was the Pyramid Parking Structure with three vehicles stolen, according to data provided by UPD Chief John Brockie.
Parking lots G4 and E8 fall in second place with two thefts respectively.
Brockie said that in his 26 years of experience there were more break-ins and vehicle theft inside of parking structures.
“I don’t know if that’s because in an open lot, the people that commit the crime may feel like they’re more exposed, as opposed in a parking structure if you’re on a floor you can kind of see what’s going on, but that is a trend that I’ve seen over many years,” Brockie said.
UPD advises the campus community to lock car doors, roll up all windows and make sure no visible items are left in the vehicle that could be targeted for theft.
“I’ll probably try to not park in parking structures as much anymore. Or if I do maybe in the lower levels,” CSULB student, Josue Mendiola Silva said. “I feel like maybe it happens in the upper levels because if your car is parked on the third floor there’s not going to be anyone that can see from their surroundings.”
With most students being commuters, almost any car model can be found. According to Brockie, the latest trend for stolen vehicles have been Kias. However, in previous years it has been Toyota Camrys, Honda Accords and Chevy Pickups.
“Because I park off campus by the hospital I try to take out all the valuable stuff that I have in my car,” student Mendiola Silva said. “My car is already a mess, so I think if people would even try to steal something from my car, they would see the mess and they’d be like, that’s a dirty car there’s nothing valuable in there.”
The process for finding stolen vehicles varies. Some vehicles have been found by police within a couple hours.
“That’s usually when they have been partially stripped and then dumped somewhere, so you know, it’s on a random street somewhere and the wheels are missing and that’s what gets the attention of the law enforcement officer,” Brockie said.
One of the first steps for law enforcement is to enter the information about the theft into the Stolen Vehicle System or SVS.
“That makes the information available to every law enforcement agency in the country,” Brockie said. “So if your car was stolen here and someone took it to New Mexico or Montana and a law enforcement officer ran that plate, it would come back as a stolen vehicle from California.”
Cameras around campus are also a vital resource in finding stolen motor vehicles. Lt. Carol Almaguer said the Pyramid Parking Structure and lot E8 do have cameras, but in consideration of their security, she did not confirm the specifics of where cameras are located within the lots.
According to Almaguer, every parking lot and structure has cameras, however, not every parking structure floor does.
Even though some of the upgraded cameras on campus have night vision capabilities, they are stationary and cannot constantly scan each area and isle. Almaguer said the upgraded cameras are just one of many tools the UPD possesses.
“We just kind of have cameras placed in areas where we can maybe get a sense for things,” Almaguer said.
There are also Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) which according to Brockie, newer cars have stamped on numerous places. The VIN helps identify stolen cars that have been taken apart.
UPD police cars have license plate readers that are connected to the SVS and automatically alert law enforcement if they drive by a reported stolen vehicle.
Although there are multiple resources to find stolen vehicles, Brockie said not all of them are always found.
“Sometimes we never find them, they’re stripped or who knows what, taken out of the country, they just disappear sometimes or they’re in a building somewhere where they’re not moving around so we can’t find them,” Brockie said.
On the side of Parking & Operations, Chad Keller said in an email that parking lots are lit with substantial LED lighting and serve a dual purpose. Even though lighting can help make parking lots safer, these lights are designed and placed to keep traffic lanes well lit.
“We also have frequent patrols by our enforcement officers that are making their rounds to enforce permit regulations. By doing this, they create a university presence in and around the parking lots/structures and by its very nature, this would increase safety,” said Keller. “However, we think it would be irresponsible to say that these items were created to prevent auto thefts.”