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The DU Department of Campus Safety and the Denver Police have received more than 40 car theft reports since January in the University and University Park neighborhoods.

Three thefts have occurred since the beginning of the academic year. According to Campus Safety, Honda Accords and Civics produced in the mid- 1990s are popular targets among thieves.

Junior Conway Stern was a victim of one of the thefts.

“I initially thought that one of my friends had borrowed my car, or maybe one of them was playing a practical joke on me,” he said.

But as Stern called his friends, they each told him that they had no idea where his car was.

“I knew something was wrong because I had my keys, but I didn’t have my car.”

The Denver Police have been fairly slack in responding to the thefts, according to junior Ross Finn. Finn’s Subaru WRX was stolen earlier this month, and the police told him that it was unlikely his car would ever be found.

“I got a letter from the DPD saying that they didn’t assign an officer to my case because it was inactive,” Finn said. “My credit card was in it when it got stolen.”

The DPD said the same thing even after Finn called them and told them where his credit card had been used to help narrow down their search area.

Campus Safety has a few tips to help deter car thieves. Always make sure to lock your car and keep any electronics or valuables out of sight. Roll the windows up when you park somewhere overnight.

Fortunately for Stern, he is an exception to the trend.

A group of his friends found his car parked at Safeway the day after he realized it was missing.