Grand Valley State University has seen a significant increase in larcenies on campus over the last three years, according to the University’s 2024 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report.
The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report is compiled and published each year, showcasing incident reports, data trends and safety policies for the University. This year’s report shows a distinct jump in larcenies, or the unlawful taking of another’s personal property, spanning from 2021 to 2023. The number of larcenies have increased each year by a significant amount, totaling nearly three times as many instances last year as the total from 2021.
The report states there were 31 total instances of larceny that took place on campus in 2021. For 2022, the report shows the number almost doubling, standing at 61 incidents. Last year, the number of on-campus larcenies peaked at 92, just short of three times as many as 2021. However, data for the current year is not yet available.
According to Assistant Director of Public Safety, Captain Kourosh Khatir, this trend is nothing new. According to Khatir, larcenies have always been an unfortunate reality on campus. However, Khatir pointed to a likely connection between the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase of the student population in the last three years.
“Larcenies are typically our highest call for service from a crime standpoint,” Khatir said. “It is difficult to assess why they have increased, but I suspect coming out of COVID-19, where we had minimal people on campus, to having our largest incoming class last year, to getting to normal campus population levels, the more people we have on campus the higher incidents of theft and other crimes we’ll encounter.”
Larcenies seem to occupy a special niche in criminal activity. Khatir said that while larcenies are not usually planned in advance, they can be easily executed if the suspect knows what to look for.
“As to why they are a problem, usually larcenies are a crime of opportunity,” Khatir said. “Items left unattended or not properly secured are unfortunately targeted.”
As for what students can do to avoid having their belongings taken from them, Khatir noted a few common sense suggestions.
“Keep valuable items locked up or under the watchful eye of trusted friends or others,” Khatir said “Sometimes even our best efforts can (still) result in a theft occurring, but making your valuables hard to take can go a long way.”
While it remains up to the students to protect their own belongings, many feel it is unfortunate that larcenies have become so prevalent on campus. It is plausible that the return to a populated, bustling campus community has provided more ample circumstances for larcenies to take place.
GVSU’s 2024 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report will not be released until next year, however it would not be out of the realm of possibility to see a further increase in on-campus larcenies.
GVPD does utilize technology to aid in the effort of future larceny prevention, as well as general campus safety and surveillance.
“Over the years, we have invested heavily in our security camera system, which continues to aid significantly in catching suspects,” Khatir said.
Khatir said despite what the trends portray, GVPD’s goal is to always to help students avoid any potential danger, whether that is to their person or their belongings.
“We continually strive to educate the campus community regarding prevention methods, whether it is at parent (or) supporter and student orientation or other programming,” Khatir said. “We encourage folks to secure their items, and have a good description including serial numbers, if possible, to aid in recovery.”
