College Dorm Rooms and Safes

[shutterghost]

Anybody attending college (living in dorms) and use a safe? If so, does anybody bolt their safe down?

Or is the idea of having a safe over-the-top ridiculous. I'm just afraid I'll have a bone-head for a room mate who'll constantly leave the room open.

[sandro9mm]

I live in the dormitory... but I don't care about my room mate...I've him like a slave... he even guards my stuff when I'm not in the room :)

[shutterghost]

hah thats awesome, hopefully I'll be equally fortunate.

[anshu]

heres my plan, my sister(college juniors)too. Throw it in the suitcase, lock the suitcase, attach suitcase to bed. Bag under bed. Works like a charm

[DavidW]

I'd put your kit in a Pelican case and lock the Pelican case to at least one steel rope round a decent anchorage. If you can arrange it so that the case is under your bed, so much better.

Remember - all the security measures are no substitute for decent insurance.



David

[SkipD]

Remember - all the security measures are no substitute for decent insurance.That is very good advise. There is no practical way to prevent the determined thief from stealing your stuff. Insurance can make the theft a little less painful.

Just make sure that you don't keep things around a dorm room that cannot be replaced (such as family heirlooms, irreplaceable photos, etc.). Most importantly, if you do want to have irreplaceable items with you, keep them in a place that doesn't look attractive to a thief. The Pelican case is a great idea, but it looks like it's worth the effort to steal.

[CorruptedPhotographer]

Back in college, when the PS2 was just released. A few days later, "curiously" the fire bell rang and as instructed, we all evacuated the building. Upon returning, the PS2 was gone.
There was no fire and no one confessed to ringing the bell.
Lets put 2 and 2 together now ;)

[DocFrankenstein]

I wouldn't create the extra attention by bolting down a safe.

Just get one that's not easy to carry out. You can buy a used one for under 200 and it's going to be solid.

I would be very careful about storing gear in dorms. You just never know.

[DocFrankenstein]

On the other hand the laptops are much more common and they are easier to resell... I think. Nobody bolts them down.

[SoaringUSAEagle]

Well my roomate is my fiancee and yes we have a small safe in the walk in closet. No its not bolted down and no I am not afraid of anyone taking stuff. Its merely a safe keeping of important documents and it is waterproof and fireproof.

I am just lucky I guess lol.

[liza]

Lock your gear in the trunk of your car. If it's possible for something to be stolen in a dorm, then it will be stolen.

[spin180]

I work for a university. Dorm room theft is one of the biggest problems most colleges have, mine included. The only reason it's such a problem is because of lazy, forgetful, thoughtless students that don't lock their room.

As you've already hit on, securing the room must be a cooperative effort between roommates. Getting a good roommate that will help you with that can be a real crapshoot. You must beat into your roommates head that the room must be locked at all times when unattended. If you get a roomie that is a complete dork, and won't help you with this take it up with the housing staff.

As for the idea of using a safe, you likely wouldn't be able to secure it to a floor or wall. Lots of dorm rooms are still made of concrete floors and block walls. Anchoring something to one of those would be quite the chore. Even if the construction of the room would allow for easily securing a safe to the wall or floor, the university will probably have regulations against making holes in or otherwise damaging said walls and floors.

That's not to say a small safe or lockbox isn't a good idea. You just have to remember a determined thief can still cart it off somewhere and gain access with proper tools. Even if it's not bolted down, the safe itself is a good deterent to petty theft. As others have mentioned, though, you can achieve much the same results with a lockable case or piece of luggage; however, soft storage goods will be easier to access than a safe.

Storing your stuff in a vehicle can be a risky proposition, maybe moreso than keeping it in the room. Cars are stolen and cars are broken into, often and easily. Even if it's in the trunk, it's easy pickings. All you need is access to the passenger compartment, by breaking a window or manipulating the lock with slim jim or even a coat hanger. Many cars have remote trunk releases in the cabin; if not, you can usually get to the trunk through the back seat.

Your best bet would be to store your gear in your room, secured in some sort of container or safe. Keep it out of sight, and don't advertise it to others; the container and the camera gear itself. If you have some means of securing the container with a cable to a fixed piece of furniture or appliance (radiator, piping, desk, closet structure), do so. Above all, though, absolutely positively lock your door when you aren't around. Even if you go to the bathroom for just a minute or two, lock the door. And one other thing, keep your keys on your person at all times. You wouldn't believe how many kids will just leave their keys laying around for anyone to find; doing so is just a free pass for an evil-doer.

Lastly, keep a record of all your gear or other valuables. Record the serial numbers and a good description of the item. If possible, have the item engraved with some sort of personal identifier (not your SSN). Many universities offer a property identification program and will engrave your stuff for you. All of this will make it easier to report your property if it is stolen, and will help the authorities track and identify it during the investigation.

;)

What SoaringUSAEagle said about waterproofing documents made me think of something else. If you're staying in a residence hall that has a fire supression system (sprinklers) or even exposed water pipes, it would be prudent to keep anything you don't want to come into contact with water up off of the floor or in a watertight container. At my institution, we've had a number of occasions where some doofus has broken a sprinkler head, causing the water to flow freely and flood a residence hall floor and all of the associated rooms; even a legitimate activation will do it too. It doesn't take long for a sprinkler system to put out enough water to submerge a dorm room floor in several inches of water. Consequently, we've had a lot of students with damaged computers, electronics, clothing, etc.

[BTNorris]

I would be careful, but not paranoid. A determined thief will break into the room and the safe. But you're not likely to have a thief that determined. You just need it to be secure enough to stop the casual snatch-n-grabber or mildly determined individual. (Unless you have the 1200 f/5.6, of course :))

As spin180 said, it may be difficult or against the rules to anchor a safe. A safe can also attract unwanted attention. But how about this: Get a large metal box, file cabinet, whatever will hold your gear. It should be able to be locked with a "real" lock. There's bound to be some wood in the room like the closet partition or even the side of the desk. Use a few wood screws from inside the box to secure the box to the wood. Fill the holes when you leave and nobody will ever know.

When I was an RA at UCLA, each of us had a master key for our particular floor we kept in this manner. Never had a key stolen.

Ditto spin180 about the water - it's not pretty.

Also, you may want a two-tier system: Have a camera ready to grab on seconds-notice - even if it's a P&S. You WILL use it. :)

[shutterghost]

wow thank you guys very much.

I'll toy around with the safe, pelican, file cabinet ideas.

If I come up with an idea I'll run it through you guys, see if there are any blatant flaws.

thanks again!

[coreypolis]

make sure its insured