Thieves steal from machines

For a group of thieves, it is easier than stealing candy from a baby. Despite University Police attempts to put a stop to it, snack machines across campus are the continued targets of criminal mischief. Since last December 17, at least 10 separate incidents of tampering with vending machines have been reported to police. University Police Investigator Dan Forsyth said thieves have broken the glass covers around vending machines in several University buildings. And according to University Police Sergeant Larry Salotti, the plot thickens. He said the area where the cash box is stored in the machine is pryed away in almost all of the cases. "The target appears to be the cash in the machines," he said. The majority of the incidents took place over winter break and Forsyth said that this may be attributed to the limited number of people in the buildings. But, candy lovers, rest easy, the police are taking every step possible to head off these Hershey heists. "We're doing as much as we can to circumvent it," Forsyth said earlier this month. Forsyth added that security measures have been taken to avoid future incidents of this sort. University Police were notified of the problem and were told to make more periodic checks of the area. But since then, at least three more machines have been broken into. Since the matter is still under investigation, Forsyth said he could not release information about suspects in these incidents and he did not say if the incidents were related. Several University buildings were hit more than once, according to police. Gimbel Gymnasium, Moore School and McNeil Building were hit twice since the start of break. Salotti said the key to preventing this type of mischief is awareness. "I would encourage all members of the University community not to hold doors open or to let people in after hours," Salotti said. "If they see someone loitering around the entrance of a secured building and it looks suspicious to them, they should let us know." "Any information will be helpful at this point," Detective Supervisor Mike Carroll said.