Student villages robbed

Behind a blue door in the basement, while Trond Kristian Sveva is in his apartment reading for his special education class, his storage room is being emptied. The hinges are broken and valuables worth approximately 79 000 kroner is stolen, among other things a TV, a portable CD player, some electric tools, an old computer and some clothes.

– I’m furious. I put the television and the CD player in there so that I could get some of my reading done, said Sveva, pointing at the storage room with nothing left but a wooden chair and a rug.

In the corridor in the basement, most of the storage rooms show signs of break-ins. Sveva has reported the break-in both to the police and to The Foundation for Student Life in Oslo (SiO), but he feels that SiO does not take the situation seriously.

– All they said was that this was a pity, but that there wasn’t much they could do about it. They also said that they would fix the hinges that were broken, but nothing has been done. I expected better from SiO.

In the bicycle shed at Bjerke, the only thing that is left of several bicycles are wheels or cycle frames still locked to the cycle stand. Sveva believes that theft is a huge problem in the student village; new training equipment disappear the day it arrives, and the tenant representatives balk at buying new common equipment.

Bjerke Studenthus at the top of SiO’s list

Recent numbers from the analysis group at Majorstuen Police Station shows that Bjerke Studenthus is at the top of the list of reported thefts in the SiO organisation, with 15 thefts so far. Within the Oslo- og Akershushøgskolenes Stuentsamskipsnad (OAS) organisation, St.Hanshaugen is the student house most exposed to thefts, with 11 registered cases so far. Grünerløkka Studenthus, which also belongs to SiO, has no registered cases so far this year.

– There are many reasons to why some places are more exposed than others. It can be anything, from the locks they use to where they are situated, the distance to public communication, or how easy it is to get there by car. Basically, some areas are simply more exposed to crime than others, said police officer and analyst Trond Kyrre Simensen at Majorstuen Police Station, who finds the condition at Bjerke Studenthus alarming.

He does not want to speculate whether or not the crimes are organised.

– The possibilities are practically endless, it can be drug addicts, or even the students themselves who need extra money and chooses to steal.

Simonsen confirms that a lot of the thefts take place in basement sheds and cycle sheds, but says that more serious thefts from cars and apartments happen as well. He adds that cases such as these are very hard to solve.

Two motorcycles stolen

Øyvind Stakkestad, who lives at the student village Bjølsen, has had two motorcycles and a bicycle stolen in a short period of time. He does not think that it is the tenants who commit these thefts. Still, the cycle shed showed no signs of broken entry, something which suggests that the perpetrators must have had keys. The garage, however, is open during the day.

– Not long after the old motorcycle was stolen, I bought a new one. But it didn’t take long before the other one was gone as well. And in May, my regular bike was taken from the shed. I’m fed up and I cannot imagine buying another motorcycle as long as I’m living here, said Stakkestad, who adds that one of is neighbours had his car broken into.

From SiO, Stakkestad received the same message as Sveva from Bjerke Studenthus; that there was a lot of thefts, and little they could do about it.

– It’s a little strange. I don’t think that my co-tenants have done this, and yet none of the doors has been broken-into. Someone must have let them in, said Stakkestad.

– Don’t walk around while you’re drunk

At the very top of the statistics, is Anker Studentbolig with 59 profit crimes reported by the end of October. Police officer Berit Haukland at the division for operative intelligence at Grønland Police Station says that one of the reasons for this, is that Anker is situated in the middle of the «Problem area» at the bottom of the Akerselva.

– It’s an area which attracts people who are not so decent. The area is exposed to crime and this is reflected in the statistics, Haukland said.

However, the police is prioritising this area, and they take action regularly, something they will continue to do until the crime level becomes more stable.

Mariann Modalen, tenant at Anker Studentbolig, had her bicycle stolen about two months ago. She has seen people climbing out of windows of the building in order to escape the police. She also fears that her own flat will be broken into.

– It’s stupid to walk around drunk in the middle of the night. One guy who was robbed here was horribly drunk, said Head of administrating at Anker STI, adding that they spend a yearly amount 3.5 million kroner on security.

– In 2004, we considered barricading ourselves with high fences, but after discussing it we decided to spend the money on security guards in stead. We are aware of the problem, and especially around two and four in the morning, the security guards are caught up in a constant cat and mouse game.