In mid-November, a Jackson High School student reported the theft of her blue jeans, backpack, makeup and a cell phone — worth about $265 total — to Mill Creek Police.
A week later, a teacher saw another girl wearing the pants and backpack. The cell phone, however, was not recovered.
The theft is not unique at Jackson.
“That seems to go on on a somewhat regular basis,” said Steve Winters, public information officer for the Mill Creek Police. “There’s always something — an iPod missing or a backpack or a phone.”
As of Nov. 30, there were 40 thefts at the school in 2007. In 2006, there were 71 thefts.
Tom Brewski, an officer with the Mill Creek Police, is the school’s resource officer. He said he sees thefts “way too frequently” at the school.
The top items stolen are iPods, he said. Cell phones, backpacks, cash and digital cameras are also common targets.
The problem is so pervasive that the Jackson student handbook warns students the school is a high-theft area. Students are asked not to bring electronics and other valuables to school.
But they do, and they don’t keep a close eye on their property, Brewski said.
“They leave it, they forget it in a class or leave it while they talk to someone during lunch,” he said.
Most students opt out of school-issued lockers because they’re not convenient, he said. Instead, they carry heavy backpacks around during the school day, and when they leave them for a moment, they’re ripe for the picking.
The iPod touch — a touch screen iPod — is a hot item right now for thieves. Brewski has talked to students who left them out on the table at lunch, turned their head for a moment and turned back to see them gone.
He recently solved a case where a friend “borrowed” an iPod touch from a friend, then sold it to another student. The thief then lied and reported it had been stolen from him.
Brewski asked students to keep their ears open for a student talking about their new iPod. Sure enough, someone did, and it turned out to be the “borrowed” device.
That kind of recovery, and discovery of the culprit, is rare. Of 40 thefts reported this year, only seven arrests were made. Of 71 thefts in 2006, there were only eight arrests.
“A very low percent can be recovered because unless you have the serial number, there’s no database you can search for iPods,” Brewski said.
In this case, the student had the iPod’s serial number and other identification.
Most items that are recovered are found through student tips. But in general, thefts at the school are hard to trace, Brewski said.
The students he has caught stealing have come from all walks of life, though many have stolen because they wanted an item and didn’t have the money.
“Some of the kids are stealing (an item) because they think that since everyone else has one they need one,” Brewski said. “Other kids are stealing just because it’s there — someone left it out.”
Others steal and sell items for income, either for drugs or things like a new pair of shoes their parents won’t buy them, Brewski said.
The students who are caught do not take stealing seriously.
“I think the majority of kids believe certain things are morally wrong,” Brewski said.
But some students believe that if you can get away with it, it’s yours, he said.
He asks students: If there were a $20 bill sitting on the floor in front of his office, would they pocket it? Students he’s talked to say they would, and they don’t consider that stealing.
None of the students arrested have served time in prison, though they’ve been charged with a range of charges, from misdemeanor to felony. That’s because the state justice system makes it difficult for youth to serve time in prison, Brewski said.
To reduce theft, school officials have started locking the locker rooms when they aren’t being used and warning students not to leave their things there. Some students have started keeping their valuables locked in the coaches’ office during practice.
School officials also tell students to keep an eye on their belongings and not bring valuables to school, Brewski said.
“We’re going to continue to try and improve the theft problem up here,” he said. “But it is a problem, and without the students’ help we won’t get very far. It will take students to address the issue.”
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