http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,94501,00.html
New Hampshire Cops Hunt Clothes-Cutting 'Jack the Snipper'
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
DURHAM, N.H. — In late August, 12,000 students will return to this New England college town, where a man dubbed "Jack the Snipper" has been cutting off women's clothes as they sleep.
Now the University of New Hampshire (search) and the surrounding community have taken steps to make sure "Jack" won't cut anyone else's clothing or take his bizarre act to another level.
The snipping incidents started June 24, with the most recent occurring last Aug. 6, when two women had their clothing cut or removed. All seven incidents have taken place in off-campus apartments early in the morning.
A task force composed of state, county and local police agencies was formed last week to speed the investigation.
Police have been looking for a man they describe as white, tall and skinny. There have been no forcible break-ins. All of the apartments were unlocked.
Although all the attacks have happened at off-campus apartments, UNH has been tightening up its own facilities. The university has stepped up security and required that dorms be locked 24 hours a day instead of only at night.
"We could have an incidence of violence because of the response of the victim or the potential victim. People are aware of this," Bruce Mallory (search), provost of the University of New Hampshire, told Fox News on Tuesday.
"If the perpetrator is holding something sharp and there is a struggle, we could have somebody hurt seriously in this kind of situation ... that's really our concern," he added. "We're fortunate at this point that nobody has been hurt, but the potential for somebody to be hurt is very real."
UNH will be posting warnings on campus and in downtown apartments, businesses, restaurants and bars, school officials said.
The warnings urge residents to lock their doors, keep porch lights on all night and travel in groups and in well-lit places. They also ask that people call police to report suspicious behavior.
"We're trying to get [the flyers] in as many places as we can to make them visible to returning students," said Mark Rubinstein, vice president for student and academic services. He said the university had received a number of calls from concerned students and parents wanting to know about the crimes.
"This is simply another effort to try to help people become aware of what's going on around here," Rubinstein added.
Local police fear the peeping tom involved could evolve into a sexual predator.
According to a local criminologist, however, the "Snipper" may turn himself in to authorities.
Ted Kirkpatrick, director of the University of New Hampshire's research group Justiceworks (search), told the Foster's Online news service that police had fingerprints and other forensic evidence in the cases.
It would only be a matter of time before the intruder either surrendered or left enough evidence to fully reveal his identity, Kirkpatrick added.
"I call it the inevitable mistakes of the offender," Kirkpatrick told the online news service. "The perfect crime is the stuff of fiction and film. In this case, the compulsion is so strong there might be indications that lead to an identity."
"I certainly think you'll see some resolution by the close of the summer months," he added.
For students on campus, safety suggestions have included using the university's student chaperone system, which provides student guides to anyone concerned about walking alone at night. Students also are advised to use the 80 blue-light-emergency phones placed throughout the campus.
"People here seem to believe in their utter safety," Rubinstein said. "And the reality is that there is no place that is absolutely safe. We're trying to remind people that these things can happen anywhere, that it is not necessarily someone else's problem."
Who knows, maybe we might be making some headway?
New Hampshire Cops Hunt Clothes-Cutting 'Jack the Snipper'
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
DURHAM, N.H. — In late August, 12,000 students will return to this New England college town, where a man dubbed "Jack the Snipper" has been cutting off women's clothes as they sleep.
Now the University of New Hampshire (search) and the surrounding community have taken steps to make sure "Jack" won't cut anyone else's clothing or take his bizarre act to another level.
The snipping incidents started June 24, with the most recent occurring last Aug. 6, when two women had their clothing cut or removed. All seven incidents have taken place in off-campus apartments early in the morning.
A task force composed of state, county and local police agencies was formed last week to speed the investigation.
Police have been looking for a man they describe as white, tall and skinny. There have been no forcible break-ins. All of the apartments were unlocked.
Although all the attacks have happened at off-campus apartments, UNH has been tightening up its own facilities. The university has stepped up security and required that dorms be locked 24 hours a day instead of only at night.
"We could have an incidence of violence because of the response of the victim or the potential victim. People are aware of this," Bruce Mallory (search), provost of the University of New Hampshire, told Fox News on Tuesday.
"If the perpetrator is holding something sharp and there is a struggle, we could have somebody hurt seriously in this kind of situation ... that's really our concern," he added. "We're fortunate at this point that nobody has been hurt, but the potential for somebody to be hurt is very real."
UNH will be posting warnings on campus and in downtown apartments, businesses, restaurants and bars, school officials said.
The warnings urge residents to lock their doors, keep porch lights on all night and travel in groups and in well-lit places. They also ask that people call police to report suspicious behavior.
"We're trying to get [the flyers] in as many places as we can to make them visible to returning students," said Mark Rubinstein, vice president for student and academic services. He said the university had received a number of calls from concerned students and parents wanting to know about the crimes.
"This is simply another effort to try to help people become aware of what's going on around here," Rubinstein added.
Local police fear the peeping tom involved could evolve into a sexual predator.
According to a local criminologist, however, the "Snipper" may turn himself in to authorities.
Ted Kirkpatrick, director of the University of New Hampshire's research group Justiceworks (search), told the Foster's Online news service that police had fingerprints and other forensic evidence in the cases.
It would only be a matter of time before the intruder either surrendered or left enough evidence to fully reveal his identity, Kirkpatrick added.
"I call it the inevitable mistakes of the offender," Kirkpatrick told the online news service. "The perfect crime is the stuff of fiction and film. In this case, the compulsion is so strong there might be indications that lead to an identity."
"I certainly think you'll see some resolution by the close of the summer months," he added.
For students on campus, safety suggestions have included using the university's student chaperone system, which provides student guides to anyone concerned about walking alone at night. Students also are advised to use the 80 blue-light-emergency phones placed throughout the campus.
"People here seem to believe in their utter safety," Rubinstein said. "And the reality is that there is no place that is absolutely safe. We're trying to remind people that these things can happen anywhere, that it is not necessarily someone else's problem."
Who knows, maybe we might be making some headway?