United States law defines grand larceny as the crime of theft of another’s property over a certain value. At Geneseo, this constitutes a theft of $1,000 or more, including any credit or debit cards.
So far this fall, there have been four reported cases of grand larceny on campus; yet, just because a report is filed doesn’t necessarily mean that an actual crime has occurred.
Two out of the four grand larceny incidents that were reported have been declared “unfounded.” Following the investigations, the items reported stolen were discovered and theft was disproven.
When the value of the stolen property falls below $1,000, it is reported as petit larceny.
“The majority of the things we see stolen are wallets and textbooks,” said Assistant Chief of University Police Scott Kenney. “But when wallets with credit cards in them are stolen, we’re required to put it in the log as grand larceny.”
Every college in the United States is required by federal law to keep a crime log that must be available to prospective students, current students and parents.
Most of the crimes that take place on campus are “thefts of opportunity,” which consist of damage and petty theft crimes. Kenney said that crimes like these can be avoided if the correct preventive measures are taken.
Every year at orientation a program called Operation I.D. is presented to incoming freshmen and advises them to mark their valuables.