An example of the damage done to cars left in Stanmer car park. Students passing by found the remnants of a joyride. (06/11/08) : Photo: Suki Ferguson
After a series of criminal damages to vehicles parked in a car park behind the Sports centre in the Stanmer Park area, police have advised the public not to leave their vehicles in this location.
The warning came after a number of cars underwent damage by vandals. The Badger was told by an employee of the Sports Centre that the initial incident had been reported to the police by students using the centre, who were immediately declared chief suspects.
One student who had left her car in the car park found it damaged. She first realised that something was wrong when she saw her car seats lying on the tarmac around her car. A few items were stolen from the car including the subwoofer, stereo and disc changer.
The thieves gained access by smashing the passenger window. They left a rubber kitchen glove in the back of the car which is now being tested for DNA evidence.
The area is relatively vulnerable, in comparison with other areas around campus, as it less rigorously monitored by security. Another incident occurred in East Slope car park. A student, Matt Gray, woke one morning planning to take his girlfriend on a romantic day out, only to find a Sainsbury’s trolley embedded in his VW Golf. Gray now has to pay repair costs of £238. What was most shocking for Gray was the likelihood that the damage was caused by students of the University. Speaking to The Badger, he reflected that at the time he was “as mad as a lizard”.
On discovering the wreckage the following morning, security were unable to officially report the incident to the police, as this must be done by the aggrieved party.
MISCREANTS STRIKE, TEDIOUSLY, AGAIN
After a slew of criminal damage to vehicles parked behind the Sports centre and Stamner Park area, police have advised the public not to leave their vehicles in this location.
The warning came after a number of cars underwent damage by a gang of car vandals. We were told by an employee of the Sports Centre that the initial incident had been reported to the police by students using the centre, who were immediately declared chief suspects.
As time passed, an archive of similar cases formed, and it became obvious that the real targets for justice were a hardened gang of gutter-dwelling Brightonians. One victim had left her car in the stated location only to find it ruthlessly stripped of its beauty the next morning. What first alerted to her to the catastrophe was the multiplicity of chairs that had been strewn from the car onto the tarmac. This service cost her the use of her subwoofer, stereo and disc changer.
Entry was not achieved by any sophisticated means, the thieves gaining access by simply smashing the passenger window. The orcs perhaps felt they were acting with acute professionalism with the use of rubber kitchen gloves, although they did make the excruciating oversight of leaving one on the back seat, which is now being tested for DNA evidence.
The area is relatively vulnerable, in comparison with other areas around campus, as it is less rigorously monitored by security. However, the presence of surveillance has not deterred similar transgressions more centrally, with the unnecessary addition of a Sainsbury’s shopping trolley to a windshield in East Slope car park. The victim, Matt Gray, woke one morning planning to take his girlfriend on a romantic day out, only to find the trolley embedded in his VW Golf. In this case the damage was suspected to have been inflicted by University residents. Whoever they were, it was clear they had been participating in a drunken game of “trolley surfing”; the expense of this shopping trip was borne only by Gray, with repair costs of £238. What was most shocking for him was the likelihood that the damage was caused by students of the University. Speaking to the Badger, he reflected that at the time he was “as mad as a lizard”. What was most unfortunate on an official level was that the yobbery was undetected by CCTV.
Peculiarly, on discovering the wreckage the following morning, security were unable to officially report the incident to the police, as this must be done by the aggrieved party.
Apart from throwing doubts on the value of CCTV, these events pose the obvious question of whether or not our possessions are really safe on campus. In truth, the University of Sussex is probably the safest and most secluded place in which most of us have ever lived, reflected by the existence of this very article, which would otherwise go unpublished – this is news, in part at least, because it almost never happens
Ryan Andrew
Pathetic of the badger to amaciate such an outstanding article, only leaving the skelletal remains. Good one Ryan!
that to be going on in this world