MUNCIE, Ind. (NewsLink) - After a burglary at Lafollette Complex Friday, Oct. 25, Ball State University Police Department wanted to emphasize the importance of the nationwide action called the “9 P.M. Routine.”
The 9 P.M. Routine first started at the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Florida a few years ago and since then has spread nationally. The routine consists of many small details that people may overlook when it comes to protecting their valuables and themselves, like making sure you take your valuables out of your car, locking all entrances to your residence, including windows and turning on your porch lights.
UPD Corporal Travis Stephens is a spokesperson for the rule and he believes the rule will prevent burglary if it is used.
"...it's about disrupting the crime of opportunity. Most of the crimes that actually happen in the area or on campus are all about opportunity. If you lock your doors, you take your valuables inside, [you’re] less likely to have a crime occur to you…," said Stephens.
This rule was easy for homeowners to implement into their lives, but not so much for students in dormitories who don’t have complete control over who entered the building. Stephens understood that and said students can follow the rule in their own way, by not letting people “piggy back” their way into the dorm.
"...if someone's coming up behind you, you don't have to necessarily close the door on them, but maybe make them swipe too so you hear it beep and you know that they've unlocked the door, that they have a card or something…,” he said.
He also said that Friday’s burglary would have been avoided if students would have locked the doors to their individual rooms.
Last week’s burglary took place in the Knotts/Edwards section of Lafollette Complex around 12:05 P.M. A witness saw burglar Misibaou Diallo leaving the complex and yelled at him which caused him to flee the scene in a small grey vehicle. Police later caught Diallo at The Haven apartments on Oct. 26 where he admitted to the burglary and another one that had taken place on Oct. 9.
Items stolen included an Xbox, PlayStation 4, controllers for both consoles, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, an iPhone XR and a wallet. All items were found by police except for the PlayStation and its controller which Diallo sold a week prior.
Diallo was charged with two charges of burglary and his bond was set at $10,000.
For any comments or concerns about this story, contact the author at emharless@bsu.edu.
