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Tips to Protect Your Personal Property

Duke Police, students and staff urge community to be mindful of property

Duke Police's Eric Hester, left, regularly meets with faculty and staff to share tips on personal and property safety. Photo by Duke Photography.
Duke Police's Eric Hester, left, regularly meets with faculty and staff to share tips on personal and property safety. Photo by Duke Photography.

It was late afternoon on a recent Monday when Freddy Huang realized his wallet was missing. Worst of all, he didn’t know where the wallet could be after traveling between the Penn Pavilion, Gross Hall and the French Family Science Center throughout the day. 

Around 9:30 p.m. that night, Huang, a sophomore, got an email alerting him his wallet had ended up at Perkins Library. He felt lucky, but the wallet was missing $80 and keys for his room and campus mailbox. Huang said he didn’t know if his wallet fell out of his pant pocket or if someone took it.

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“I know now to take only what I need in case of an emergency and keep items in my wallet to a minimum,” Huang said.

As the end of the academic year draws near, Duke Police is encouraging students and employees to be more diligent with personal belongings as more time is spent outside in public spaces or in the library preparing for end-of-semester assignments and tests. In March, 25 larcenies were reported on the university campus, up from 20 in 2015.

Eric Hester, crime prevention specialist with Duke Police, said most thefts can be classified as “crimes of opportunity,” a case where items are left alone or ignored. To prevent property theft, Hester suggests Duke community members take these safety precautions:

  • Lock residence or office doors when away and secure belongings out of sight in cabinets or drawers.
  • Don’t prop open doors, especially those accessed only with a DukeCard.
  • Alert police to strangers or suspicious activity.
  • Don’t leave valuables unattended.

Duke Police also provides a free engraving service that can help deter theft and help track owners when stolen items are recovered. Engraving sessions can be scheduled for student groups or departments at locations across campus by calling (919) 681-5609.

“Even though we place trust in others, the reality is that some people look out for unattended property because it’s so easy to walk up, take it and walk away,” Hester said. “It’s best to keep important items locked up or out of sight.” 

If an item does go missing, there are more than 20 lost and found locations across campus, which can be found with this map. The map includes specific holding places in buildings as well as contact information for each.

Shawn Johnson, a lab assistant in the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, coordinates safety training for colleagues working in Medical Sciences Research Building II. Efforts to educate colleagues have included engraving sessions with Duke Police to mark property and group talks with Duke officers to learn best practices. 

“People keep their entire lives in their cell phone or in a wallet, including financial information,” Johnson said. “It used to be people would steal belongings just to resell them, but now they may resell or use information on our property to steal personal information.”

For more information about engraving personal property and other safety tips, visit the Duke Police website.