Crime increases both at USD and in San Diego

Students car stolen from San Buenaventura parking lot and an increase in criminal activity in popular student spots off campus

Colin Mullaney / Assistant News Editor / The USD Vista

On Friday, Sept. 10, the USD campus community received yet another mass email from Public Safety regarding a serious theft that occurred on campus. For a second time, decidedly early into the fall semester, a robbery occurred not just in the vicinity of, but directly on campus. Returning students may be familiar with the occasional email notification about a car break-in across the street at the Pacific Ridge parking garage, but students are likely unaccustomed to threats so close to home, let alone such flagrant and frequent disturbances.

The first major incident of the semester, a break-in at Valley B during football’s pre-season, ended with the apprehension of a suspect and praise for the football players who helped to detain the would-be thief until authorities could arrive. This past week’s incident, however, may not be resolved so readily, since it was more covert in nature, albeit no less grave. This time, a vehicle, a yellow Acura Integra, vanished out of the parking lot of San Buenaventura residence hall, sometime between nighttime on Wednesday, Sept. 8, and the morning of Friday, Sept. 10. Unfortunately, no new leads have come from the ongoing investigation, which is being conducted by both the Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement.  

In the meantime, USD Public Safety offers some helpful safety considerations to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents occurring in the future, specifically auto theft. 

Besides the more obvious deterrents like closing/locking all doors and never leaving a running vehicle unattended, USD Public Safety Captain Quinton Kawahara recommended what students should do. 

“Pick a parking spot where there is a lot of activity,” Kawahara suggested “Thieves are usually looking for the easiest target and prefer breaking into cars in isolated areas.” 

And while it may be true that alarms or anti-theft devices work, Kawahara noted a common mistake that people make.

“Don’t make the common mistake of assuming that, because you have an alarm or anti-theft device, thieves won’t break-in,” Kawahara recommends. 

To those willing to go the extra mile, one can install a vehicle tracking and location system that can be activated after the vehicle is reported as stolen, and finally, always report suspicious activity on campus immediately to the Department of Public Safety by calling (619) 260-2222.

Though all well and good, ideally students would not feel compelled to trade one form of hypervigilance for another: from concerns over COVID-19 to crimes like theft. This back-to-back sequence of events has some worried that the emergent pattern could stick, and the implications could be far more reaching than the campus community alone. 

Two days before students arrived on campus, for instance, four people were shot and wounded near Belmont Park in Pacific Beach, a popular attraction for students on the weekends and close to off-campus housing of USD upperclassmen. Just one week later, a second shooting occurred in the area injuring one, according to NBC San Diego. In both instances, the shooter appeared to have targeted random pedestrians, including two college-aged victims. The shooter or shooters have yet to be taken into custody, which could cause some to second-guess their next trip to the beach or amusement park.

More frequent instances of crime, according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), could become the reality of life in a post-COVID world, with an economic downturn on the minds of many Americans. While certain types of crime were reportedly down since last fall, other statistics point to the contrary, such as “a troubling increase of about 30% in homicides,” according to the PPIC. 

“Property crimes, larcenies and residential burglaries declined, but both motor vehicle theft and commercial burglaries increased markedly, by roughly 20%,” according to the PPIC. At the very least, crime rates seem to have returned to or surpassed pre-COVID levels and may necessitate further investigation into the underlying causes, as well as counteraction, before they are brought back down again. 

In the recent California gubernatorial recall election, Newsom’s challenger, Larry Elder, harped on rising crime rates around the state in his criticisms of the current administration, stating, “…crime is up dramatically in L.A., in San Francisco, in Oakland and San Diego. And by crime I don’t just mean thefts, I’m talking about shootings, homicides up 41% In L.A,” Elder said. Although failing to secure the governorship, Elder’s words resonated with enough voters to gain him national attention and have the potential to outlast Elder’s candidacy, should current trends persist.

An uptick in crime is never a welcomed trend, least of all in the midst of getting settled into new classes and navigating the changed landscape of post-online learning; it could become a worry for students who had hoped to return to campus for a less anxiety-ridden semester than last. Fortunately, San Diego remains among the safest cities in California, with the lowest rates of both property and violent crimes, according to the PPIC. So while additional caution may be warranted, students can rest assured that authorities remain dedicated to tackling the issue and pursuing reports of crime to the fullest extent.