When students return to their residence halls after winter break and discover that something was stolen, their first instinct is to assume it was stolen over winter break, while the residence halls were locked down.

However, Tyrone Parham, Penn State University Police assistant director, said some thefts occur during the final days before residence halls close.

Parham said once winter break starts, residence halls are locked down and police also increase patrols in the buildings. In the last few days of finals week, when fewer students are around and the residence halls are still open, some thieves walk through residence halls and check for unlocked doors, Parham said.

However, the crime-rate over winter break this year showed no significant change from past years, police said.

Parham said there were about six major thefts on campus over break, including two bicycle thefts from East Halls and three money thefts. He said the number was typical compared to previous years.

A staff member reported Jan. 3 that $450 was stolen from Walker Building, police said. Money was also reported stolen from Noll Lab, although no estimate was available. Also, a staff member reported $162 was stolen from Steidle Building. Although all three incidents occurred on West campus, Parham said thefts are typically more widespread over campus.

The two bicycles, valued at $750 and $350, were both locked up when they were stolen.

Parham said students should take bikes home or put them in their rooms to reduce the risk of theft over break.

He said it is easier to steal things over break because there are fewer people on campus.

"There's hardly anyone around," he said. "We can't be everywhere."

Parham said because thefts during winter break are often not discovered until students and faculty return, the time period during which a theft could have occurred can be more than three weeks long.

However, he said the large time period did not necessarily decrease the likelihood of recovering the property.

"Each case is different," he said.

Borough crime rates over break were also similar to those of previous years, said Greg Koehle, State College Police Department community relations crime prevention officer.

He said downtown crime is reduced significantly during break.

"You're just not doing the volume at the bars," he said.