Students at Green Templeton College were shocked this week after a man burgled their accommodation in broad daylight.
The unidentified man gained access to Observer’s House block on Tuesday 11th January around lunchtime and wandered around for 20 minutes before gaining access to a residential building.
He entered through an unlocked exterior door and stole two laptops, an SLR camera and some jewellery.
One of the students was eating lunch in the kitchen when his laptop was taken from his unlocked room on the top floor, the other was away in London.
Graduate Common Room President Aaron Krolikowski said that students who were around at the time have managed to identify the man on college CCTV footage.
Krolikowski also emphasised that “the Police have been very helpful, forensic teams have taken fingerprints and a burglary expert team has also visited the College”.
He added that “the Graduate Common Room have been working closely with the College administration since the incident to indentify weak points in security.
“We have considered putting new locks on some of the doors, including electronic ones to tighten things up as much as we can”.
This news comes after thefts at two other colleges last term. In October, a man broke in to Balliol and left with nearly £6000 worth of personal belongings. A student at Brasenose had his laptop taken after he left it unattended in the College library.
Other colleges have warned their students about the risk of theft, with St Anne’s bursar advising students as they return after the vacation not to “prop open doors when unloading as this permits access to residential buildings”.
Thames Valley Police advises students to shut and lock all doors and windows at night and when they go out.
