The Isla Vista Foot Patrol released the results from the first year of its “Stop Burglaries in IV” campaign yes- terday, reporting an overall decline in residential thefts since the program’s inception.
The initiative began on March 17, 2011 and has been a collaborative effort between IVFP, UCSB Associated Students, local businesses and property managers to reduce burglaries in the region through widespread dissemina- tion of its educational logo. The logo is featured on stickers, refrigerator mag- nets and signs throughout I.V. encour- aging residents to lock their doors and windows before leaving home.
According to IVFP Lieutenant Ray Vuillemainroy, the number of reported residential burglaries from March 2011 through December 2011 decreased nearly 30 percent overall. Vuillemainroy said the A.S. External Vice President of Local Affairs Office and other A.S. subdivisions were instrumental in orga- nizing the campaign.
“Recently, Associated Students’ IV Tenants Union and Associated Students’ Commission on Public Safety funded ‘Stop Burglaries in IV’ light post banners up and down Pardall Road,” Vuillemainroy said in a written statement. “Hopefully, these banners will serve as a gentle reminder and inspire students to lock their doors and windows.”
A.S. Commission on Public Safety Chair Steven Gonzalez, a fourth-year philosophy major, said A.S. raised signs on the light poles along Pardall Road during Spring Break to further spread the anti-burglary message throughout the community.
EVPLA Timothy Benson, a fourth- year communications major, said the student government provided approxi- mately $2,411 through its various boards, committees and coalitions to distribute 10,000 stickers — estimated to last through most of 2013 — featur- ing the anti-burglary logo.
“It has been good to get to work so closely with [Vuillemainroy] and the foot patrol,” Benson said. “In the past there have been some callous [relations] between the foot patrol and students, but for the last year and a half to two years — and I attribute it largely to [Vuillemainroy] — we’ve had an opportu- nity to work together as a community.”
In spite of the initiative’s overall suc- cess, instances of reported residential burglar- ies more than doubled over the past three months compared to the rate from the same time period last year.
Vuillemainroy said the most frequently stolen belongings — laptops and cell phones — are readily accessible for suspects entering through unlocked entry points.
“Students should remember — their friends’ friends aren’t necessarily their friends,” Vuillemainroy said. “Many of these thefts occur during parties or when they leave their houses unlocked and unattended.”
IVFP plans to increase the number of over- all foot patrols and incorporate special direct- ed patrols focusing on burglary prevention, according to Vuillemainroy. Additionally, the EVPLA Office is working with I.V. landlords to ensure proper locks and other preventive measures are installed on their properties.
Despite the recent swell in residential thefts, Vuillemainroy said the campaign suc- ceeded in reducing the overall reported num- bers due largely to the community’s coopera- tion.
“Although our burglary rates have recently increased, I want to thank the Isla Vista community for their support this past year,” Vuillemainroy said in a statement.