HARRISONBURG, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – The James Madison University Police Department has noticed an increase in scooter thefts on campus over the past week.

In an email alert sent to JMU faculty, staff and students, university police said it appeared that people have been cutting locks and taking the scooters at free will. According to the department’s daily crime log for April 2024, there have been seven scooter thefts since Tuesday, April 23, with most of the thefts reported on JMU’s East Campus.

The alert encouraged students with scooters on campus to take extra measures to secure them such as using battery disconnects, double locks, and U-Locks whenever possible. University police also asked members of the JMU community to contact law enforcement with any information about the thefts and to report suspicious activity, particularly around bike racks on campus.