The Isla Vista Foot Patrol is promoting an anti-theft campaign to reduce the number of burglaries in the community.

I.V. tenants reported nearly 300 residential burglaries last year, about two-thirds of which involved an open entryway.

According to IVFP Lt. Ray Vuillemainroy, the department will combine increased public education and community policing to decrease the number of burglaries this year.
The department kicked off the “Stop Burglaries in I.V.” campaign last month to encourage people to lock their doors and windows before leaving home, and will continue to distribute and promote their advisory logo throughout the area during Spring, Fall and Winter Quarters.

The collaborative effort includes UCSB’s Associated Students, UCSB faculty and administration, 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr and local business and property owners.

According to Lt. Vuillemainroy, the campaign aims to prevent robberies that occur because residents leave unlocked points of entry.

“[T]he victims in these cases did not lock their doors and windows and thus fell easy prey to burglary suspects,” Vuillemainroy said.  “It is our hope that regular exposure to this logo will encourage residents to lock their doors and windows, which ultimately should reduce the number of burglaries in I.V.”

Several community organizations have already taken up the initiative. The I.V. Property Owners Association donated 10,000 refrigerator magnets bearing the “Stop Burglaries in IV” logo; the A.S. Isla Vista Community Relations Committee is issuing over 75,000 stickers for businesses to display on their to-go bags and similar items; and the Isla Vista Tenants Union is mailing postcards with the campaign logo and theft prevention tips to every residency in the community.

Cori Lantz, a fourth-year political science major and UCSB’s A.S. external vice president of local affairs, said the association has worked cohesively with other groups involved in the program for several months.

“We had a meeting with Ray a couple months ago. It is a topic that has been brought up in A.S. before, so we decided to combine forces,” Lantz said. “I am really impressed with the number of groups involved and the collaboration between them.”

Doreen Farr said the program is an effective educational crime-reduction tool.

“I think it is a wonderful campaign,” Farr said. “It is too bad we live in a society where these kinds of things happen, but that is the way it is, not just here. We have such a laidback, beachside environment that I think sometimes people get lulled into this false state of safety so they leave their valuables out and doors unlocked, and things get stolen.”