The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Police Report: April 9-April 17

<p>The Special Programs Building houses the University of Richmond Police Department.&nbsp;</p>

The Special Programs Building houses the University of Richmond Police Department. 

Exit Signs

An exit sign was knocked down in Marsh Hall on April 9. This is the latest incident of a recurring issue the University of Richmond has had over the last few years of students knocking exit signs down. The University Police Department, in conjunction with undergraduate student housing, has been striving to find a replacement for the exit signs that may be a less appealing target to the students knocking them down, said Assistant Chief of Police Beth Simonds. On behalf of URPD, Simonds said she would like students to do what they could to help stop the damaging and destroying of school property. 

Harassing Communications

A Westhampton College student reported on April 11 about being the victim of repeated unwanted communication from a person who is not affiliated with the university. Simonds said the student had asked the person to stop the communications, at which point the harasser had made no effort to stop. 

Victims of repeated unwanted communication should ensure that they clearly state that their harassers should stop messaging them, Simonds said. Once a victim has communicated this clearly, if the harasser continues, the victim should seek and enlist help. Simonds also said people should know that sending phone messages or emails continuously after that person has asked the perpetrator to stop correspondence is illegal.

Vending Machine Down

A vending machine was found with the glass door smashed out in Gray Court on April 12. The discovery of a damaged or destroyed vending machine is an infrequent occurrence on UR's campus, Simonds said. With no current suspects, the university will likely have to cover the cost of the machine with the company that supplies them.

Cybercrime

The email addresses of some people on campus received scam emails that were discovered on April 15. An anonymous third party sent the emails, which were intended to make people pay small sums, via email, to the sender. With no reported victims of the scam, the charges have been listed as cybercrime and not extortion. 

Information Services has released an alert on its website, describing these emails as a phishing gift card scam. According to the alert, anyone on campus who receives suspicious messages should forward the messages to abuse@richmond.edu and not respond further. 

Hit-and-Run

The owner of a damaged car reported a hit-and-run on April 17. The car was hit on April 11 in lot W82. Simonds expressed that people should always leave their insurance information if they hit a parked car with no one in it, both for their sake and for the sake of the owner of the other car. This case has been closed because there are currently no leads, but if a new lead is found, URPD may reopen their investigation.  

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Not all police reports are published, and available information can be found at URPD’s crime log. All information used in this report came from either the URPD police log or Assistant Chief of Police Beth Simonds.

Contact news writer Eli Kline at eli.kline@richmond.edu.

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