Three cars were found in the Charles River Lot last Wednesday with smashed side windows and Global Positioning System units, among other items, stolen from inside.Two of the students whose cars were damaged said Tuesday that GPS units had been stolen, one of whom had an iPod stolen as well, according to Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan. Another student had a purse stolen from her car that contained a checkbook and personal information, Callahan said. Patrolling officers found the damaged vehicles Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.

Julie Vavoules '10, one of the students who had her GPS stolen, said she was notified of the theft by a voicemail left on her campus phone by Public Safety Wednesday afternoon, which prompted her to call Public Safety, who told her to check her car.

"Information was left for the students, .and the students who operate the vehicles came in during the evening," Callahan said.

"My passenger-side window was smashed, and my GPS unit was gone," Vavoules said. "I had a dent at the point of entry. .My glove compartment was broken, and the [air conditioning] vent near the passenger side window was broken."

Vavoules, who said she went with her roommate to check her car and then filed a police report, was dissatisfied that Public Safety didn't assist her with the incident beyond those measures.

"My public property was damaged, and Brandeis isn't taking any responsibility for it," she said.

Detective Sergeant Tim King, the spokesman for the Waltham Police Department said this type of theft isn't unique to Brandeis. "There's been a huge number [of thefts] this year, not just in Waltham, but in surrounding communities," King said.

"People basically [have] designs to steal things [and] will walk through parking lots, and if they see these type of devices, affixed to windshields with suction cups, they can see that they're just there, readily available for the taking," Callahan said.

It is difficult to catch the perpetrators in these types of incidents, King said, because this crime takes so little time to commit.

"Crime happens so fast. .It takes 20 seconds for the entire crime to occur," King said. "It's all about prevention in this case."

Callahan agreed, adding, "The prevention of these type of incidents happens with self-prevention." Students should remove GPS mounts from their cars because they indicate that there is a GPS unit inside the car.

Vavoules cited the openness of the Charles River lot and the lack of parking lot security as problems that may have led to the thefts. "I don't really know how much [Public Safety] can do with a parking lot that's so easily accessible from the street," Vavoules said.

Vavoules, who says she usually takes the GPS unit out of her car when she parks, left the suction cup for the GPS unit out and stored the unit itself in the center console of the car. "I didn't even think about it at the time," she said.

There is a security camera in place near the Charles River lot, but it didn't catch any footage of Wednesday's incidents, Callahan said.

"There is already a [closed circuit television] unit within the small lot next to 110 Angleside [St.]," Callahan wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. "The camera allows police dispatchers to view the [Charles River] Lot to an extent. Camera footage relative to the dates in question were reviewed with no discernible evidence being observed."

King said the Waltham Police Department is in constant contact with Brandeis police, and they share information with each other.

"I think the most effective thing [the police department has] done ... [is] inform these people not to leave their valuables in their cars.