Earlier this month, an unidentified white male with brown hair between the ages of 40 and 50 entered the dorm room of a female student and verbally demanded money. The suspect was described as 5’7" tall and approximately 175 lbs.
The student was alone in her room with the door unlocked. She resisted, and the man was reported to have left saying, "This time it’s a joke, but next time you better watch out." The student was not injured.
The incident was not reported until last week, when officers following up on a reported burglary from the same day visited the building.
Sergeant Joe Audino of the Department of Public Safety said this incident emphasizes the need for students to report suspicious activity and incidents to Public Safety immediately.
"Students need to know that Public Safety needs to be notified immediately and directly regarding criminal or suspicious or dangerous activity," Audino said.
The Public Safety website contains guidelines and information about making reports, including forms listing the important information usually requested when a report is made.
Audino says Public Safety will be increasing patrols in the area, and officers will be working with witnesses and with Troy Police to find the suspect.
Public Safety officers also took time to speak with students in the building one-on-one, both to gather information and to explain the importance of reporting suspicious activity.
Public Safety suggests students take steps to prevent such incidents in the future, such as not holding building doors open for people unless you know they live in the building, and keeping room doors closed and locked at all times.
Audino acknowledges that this could affect the community environment that exists in many dorms. "You sacrifice one thing for the other a little bit," he said. "If we’re smart about this we can keep that sense of community."
However, he emphasizes that he does not want a lock-down environment to exist on campus.
Director of Public Safety Bernie Drobnicki agrees that the community aspect is important. "I think you have to harness that sense of community to watch out for each other," he said.
Drobnicki emphasized that crime levels at RPI have actually been going down over the past four years, with the exception of a small increase due to the large number of laptops that have appeared on campus.
"This is a safe environment," he said, citing a downward trend in assault statistics.
However, he still recommended caution. "Even with high levels of personal safety you can still be victimized," he said.
