Busy season fast approaching for University of Michigan campus area thieves

Those who subleased apartments will move out, and the students will move in. Cars, trailers, boxes, bags, bicycles and apartments will be left unlocked and unattended. The urchins will crawl out from under their rocks, slide into the aforementioned unattended areas and take what they want.

Unless the item stolen was cash, a cell phone, a wallet or purse, it may be several days before students even realize the items are missed. It will take a week or so to contact parents and ask them to look for the item. Mom or dad will reply in a snarky tone, “How could anyone find anything in your room?” The stolen item - if it isn't crucial - will be forgotten. Once students realize property has been stolen, chances are they won’t report it to police unless they're making an insurance claim. If they finally make a report to the police, several days after the fact, their chance of getting the items back is about as likely as a vacation trip to the rock formerly known as the planet Pluto.

The items most stolen around campus include: wallets, purses, laptops, cell phones, jewelry, bicycles, video gaming systems and, of course, cash. Laptop computers can be the most devastating loss for a student whose whole semester of work may be on the hard drive.

Moral of the story here: ALWAYS BACK UP SCHOOL WORK TO OTHER STORAGE DEVICES. Tomorrow, I'll warn you about one of the bolder scams enterprising thieves use to gain access to students’ property.

In the meantime lock it up, don’t leave it unattended, be aware and look out for your neighbors.