Video: Starkville Police Offer Property Protection Tips During Spring Break

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — Soon, the Starkville streets will be less crowded as college students leave town for spring break.

“We can lose close to 18-20 thousand students during that break. So, obviously it leaves your rentals and your apartments exposed during that time frame,” said Lt. Tom Roberson, with the Starkville Police Department.

Lt. Roberson works for the Starkville Police Department’s Investigation Unit.

He says they often see an increase of break in’s while so many students are gone for the week.

“A lot of times, criminals are looking for crime of opportunity. So it could be as simple as them walking by, looking in and seeing something that they want and therefore breaking in at that point,” said Roberson.

Roberson encourages students to remember the simple rules for keeping their home and property safe.

“Close your blinds, close your curtains, lock your windows, lock your doors,” said Roberson.

At least one student we talked to says she’s already taking those precautions.

“My mom is the crazy one who is always telling me ‘ lock your doors, make sure everything is locked, don’t forget anything, dont leave anything open, close all your windows, close all your blinds, turn off all your lights.’ She says leave one light on so people can know your’re there but you’re not there,” said Lanecha Turner, MSU student.

But if you want to take your property protection a step further, the department has a program for residents who request extra patrol while they are out of town.

“Any citizen that would like for us to check on their property, they can come in fill out a form, let us know what dates they’re going to leave, what dates they’re going to be back and let us know what cars should be out in front of their property, whether or not they’re leaving any lights on,” added Roberson.

The program is free and open to all residents.

If you are interested, just stop by the Starkville Police Department.

Categories: Local News

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