Last semester on October 21, 2019, Saint Xavier University’s Public Safety informed the SXU community about a suspect who had been taking phones, wallets, and cards from staff members.
The incidents were reported to Public Safety by staff members. According to William J Sheehy, the Director of Emergency Management at Public Safety, with the help of SXU Security Officers and dispatchers, several hours of recorded video from the security cameras were reviewed to identify the suspect. In those videos, they saw how the suspect threw an item into one of SXU’s bushes. They immediately recovered the item. It was an empty phone case which belonged to one of the victims.
Unfortunately, SXU Public Safety was not able to identify the suspect in the video. No one recognized this person. Public Safety then sought help from University Relations. A picture of the suspect was uploaded on the school’s website and social media to inform the community of SXU to be on the outlook for this person. After this incident happened, it took the suspect two months to come back to SXU’s campus.
Officer William explains how on January 15, 2020, they received a call from a staff member who recognized the suspect from the picture. They quickly drove over to the Warde Academic Center where they found the suspect by the information desk with three phones in his pocket. The suspect matched the description from the videos taken in October. The Chicago Police department was then called to the scene and the suspect was taken into custody. He was charged with theft over 500 dollars. The trial is still pending.
During the arrest, there were several students who witnessed the suspect being arrested. George Moreno, a junior majoring in Chemistry, said how this is something he never expected to see here at SXU. At the moment the suspect was arrested, he said he felt safe because there were several police officers, but was still in shock after witnessing it. Even though George describes this moment as safe, student Carlos Lara worries about future incidents like this one.
He stated, “SXU should take more precautions on who comes into the building. Outside people can come in and out any time of the day. It is not until 6:30 pm when the school requires students and staff to swipe, I think it should be a 24/7 thing. Other universities require students to do it, and it is all about safety and control.”
To respond to this, SXU’s Public Safety explains that it is out of their control whether the institution wants students to swipe every time. The nature of the school and schedules of classes is one of the reasons as to why this might be the case, according to SXU officers. It is something that will come in handy if stealing keeps happening, but the school currently has no plans for adding this regulation.
The officers claim that student’s safety is their priority. They continue patrolling and learning familiar faces to keep track of who belongs and who does not at our school.