Theft Increases on Campus from MWSU Campus Watch on Vimeo.

Kylie Lowe never thought she would be a victim of crime on campus.

“I didn’t think it was going to happen to me, people always tell me to lock my doors and I guess I learned the hard way,” Kylie Lowe, a freshman  in education, said.

When she came home from practice last week, she noticed  money missing from her wallet, the wallet she left in her bedroom.

Like many other students, Lowe is just one of the twenty one theft cases in the past three months. University police say theft is an on-going problem this fall semester.

“I believe this is the highest we have seen. We give talks and tell the students to lock up their items and cars but they are not listening to us as much.” University Police Sergeant, Albert Jimenes said.

From missing cell phones at the Wellness Center to disappearing car decals, theft is continuing to rise. Thieves are also targeting cars on campus and backpacks and laptops in the Clark Student Center.

“This semester we have a lot more students, and theft is really a crime of opportunity. More stuff is being left out and in the past people are leaving their belongings where they are not really watching what is happening to them.”

Lowe says she has always known what to do, it just took a hard lesson.