Public Safety patrols The Commons

By The Beacon | October 26, 2011 9:00pm
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Theft in The Commons at all-time high this year, causing Public Safety to monitor

(-- The Beacon)

By Rachel McIntosh Staff Writer mcintosh14@up.edu

More students are skipping the cash registers and heading straight for the doors with food in hand, causing Bon Appétit and Public Safety to take action to catch the thieves.

After meeting two weeks ago to discuss the increase in thefts, Public Safety and Bon Appétit decided Public Safety should designate an officer to patrol The Commons during busy times each day.

"It's a stopgap, not a solution," director of Public Safety Harold Burke-Sivers said. "It is a temporary thing for now to kind of curb the problem."

Public Safety would not release the exact times an officer will be in The Commons, in hopes that students will be under the impression they are always being monitored.

"It's gone down since we have been in there," Burke-Sivers said. "We can't be in there all the time, so the times that we aren't there it is obviously less effective than the times that we are there. We just need to have more discussion about long-term solutions."

Theft in The Commons has decreased since Public Safety has been patrolling on a daily basis, according to General Manager of Bon Appétit Kirk Mustain.

"It's a matter of knowing where the registers are and see someone pick up an item and heading in the opposite direction," Mustain said. "It's almost all students. We are catching 9 to 10 a day which we believe to be about a quarter of all thefts."

Students who are caught stealing food from The Commons will be sent to the University's student conduct coordinator or hall director for a disciplinary hearing and further consequence evaluations.

Mustain cannot figure an exact amount of money Bon Appétit is losing from the increased theft, but it only takes a little math to realize the magnitude of the problem.

"We came to the conclusion by matching production with sales records," Mustain said. "You make 50 pizzas but you only sell 30, then you take staff meals out of the equation. So that means 14 to 18 people are walking out of the door."

Students aren't just stealing food. They are also stealing utensils and other items. Mustain factors $15,000 a year into the budget for replacement of spoons, knives, forks and cups, which are also being taken from The Commons. But for now, all Public Safety and Bon Appétit can do is monitor students and check for receipts.

"To be honest, I don't know if that's the answer," Mustain said. "That's not the kind of operation I want to run."


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