As the holiday season approaches, many students receive new and expensive gifts. They bring them to school to show off but soon find their prized possessions have been placed into the hands of someone else. They have been stolen.

Every year numerous theft reports are filed to the school. Whether the stolen item is recovered or not, there is an in depth process students must follow before the search for any belongings can begin.

This process consists of a page-long theft report asking various pieces of information from the victim. The who, what, where, when and why are crucial questions that must be answered, according to Chesterfield Security Officer Tom Huesgen.

“Usually, people don’t realize something of theirs has been stolen when it occurs. Generally, it is after the fact. If it is basic theft, it is very important to know when it happened. That gives us a tracking list to who, what and where they’re occurring,” Huesgen said.

Basic information requested on the theft report includes the victim’s name, age, school and home address. Other questions include: the time the object was last seen, if it was secured, witnesses to the crime, date the theft was discovered, how the theft happened and the object’s serial number. Once this information is complete, it can be submitted to Huesgen for searching. Although not all objects are found, Huesgen said he always tries to recover them for the victim.

Contrary to popular belief, the amount of thefts reported has decreased since last year, Huesgen said. Last year there were many locker incidents which have been less prominent this year. However, this does not necessarily mean the amount of crime is down, just the number of thefts reported has dropped, Huesgen said.

The most common items reported are cell phones and money. Senior Rachel Kruvand had both her cell phone and wallet stolen at the fall choir concert.

“I left my purse in the changing room, and when I came back my phone and wallet were gone, and my purse was broken,” Kruvand said.

Once Kruvand discovered the theft she immediately approached her choir teacher and filed a theft report with principal Tim Gannon and with a police officer the following day. Her initial reaction to the crime was one of shock and dismay.

“I got really mad, and I cried. I felt that my trust had been violated,” Kruvand said.

Although Kruvand’s empty wallet was recovered, she said she advises students to leave all unnecessary items in their cars, carrying only car keys with them while at school.

Kruvand is one of the many females who report stolen items every year. However, males also report various thefts. Sophomore Kevin Dietl had his Verizon picture cell phone stolen this year.

“It was either stolen out of my locker or was stolen after I lost it, but I didn’t do much. The police officers can’t do anything about it. There is no sense in approaching them because they can’t bring it back,” Dietl said.

In both cases the guilty thieves remained uncaught, but consequences for those who are caught range from slight to very substantial punishments. If the thief is 17 years old or greater, they could be arrested. School discipline such as suspension from school is also an option. However, Huesgen said the guilty person often times remains uncaught.

“They make sure they commit the crime when no one can see them, so you don’t always catch them. There is not enough evidence to catch them in many instances,” Huesgen said.

Some schools are dealing with this issue by instating a program called Crime Stoppers. Students from each grade level run the program, allowing fellow students to release information about crimes anonymously. These students will then receive a reward for verified information, according to the Web site for Longview High School in Longview, Texas.

At Central no such program has been instituted, but Huesgen said there is one simple thing all students can do to further protect themselves and their items from being stolen.

“If it (expensive items) is not needed at school, leave it at home. If it is something that is needed at school, keep it with you. You really have to be careful when you have something expensive,” Huesgen said.

The specific reason for theft at Central is unknown, but there are some clues that lead to these harmful misdemeanors. Sometimes if the item is there, it just seems natural for some people to steal it, Huesgen said.

“If there’s something there, people want to look at it. You have people who steal because they are kleptomaniacs, but for others it’s a crime of opportunity,” Huesgen said.