As community members have headed to the nearby ice rink for various events this week, so have thieves -- to prey on skaters' carelessness.
The Penn Ice Rink at the Class of 1923 Arena has been the site of three thefts -- including that of a sport utility vehicle -- in the past week.
Penn Police said this number is unusually high, but they do not see any particular reason for the jump.
The car theft, in addition to a theft from a car and a wallet theft, all occurred in the vicinity of the rink.
A local resident reported that her purse -- which contained $30 in cash, a checkbook, credit cards and assorted identification cards -- was removed from her unsecured 2002 blue Saturn at around 5 p.m. Saturday while her car was parked in the lot of the rink.
A man with no ties to the University reported that his wallet was taken from the left rear pocket of his pants at around 9:30 p.m. last Wednesday. The wallet contained $14 in cash and several credit cards.
Police said that this case may be related to the auto theft that occurred that same day.
Another man who was playing hockey at the time reported that someone rummaged through his belongings inside of a rink locker room and removed the keys to steal his 2004 Jeep.
Police have not made arrests in any of the cases.
Rink employee Michael Chris said that it is not uncommon for patrons to neglect their belongings while on the ice, creating opportunities for theft.
"Some people will leave their stuff around, but that's not a good idea," Chris said. "Some people will leave their stuff on the benches."
The rink provides secured lockers that cost 50 cents and are popular among skaters, Chris said. However, he said that the rink encourages regular skaters who use the locker rooms to bring padlocks, as the locker rooms there are unsecured.
Chris said that rink personnel guard against theft as well.
"If I see a coach and I've seen someone here I've never seen before, I'll ask the coach if that person is with the team," Chris said. "If not, I usually keep an eye on them ... make sure they aren't doing anything wrong."
Wharton junior Emily Will -- who works and skates at the rink three to four times per week -- said that the recent thefts could be a result of increased crowds.
"There were a lot of events there this week," Will said. "There were more people there and probably more confusion."
