University Police have responded to a string of voyeurism incidents at the University of Maryland in recent weeks and continue to investigate these cases in spite of scant details.
Of the four voyeurism incidents reported at this university this year, three have occurred in the past four weeks, according to police reports.
The first of these incidents occurred on Oct. 9 in Wicomico Hall when a female student saw a cellphone taking a video of her while she was in a shower stall. Before that, the most recent incident was reported on Feb. 15.
“The amount of incidents we’ve had recently is unusually high,” said Student Conduct Director Andrea Goodwin. “It definitely raises the question if it’s the same person engaged in multiple incidents.”
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Based on information from each investigation, University Police spokeswoman Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas said she doesn’t believe the incidents are connected. She said each incident is different enough in its location and time to suggest it was not the same offender.
“We don’t know if these are pranks or not, but we’re not laughing, and the victims aren’t laughing,” Hoaas said. “This stuff is a big deal.”
In one incident, the only lead is a description of a cellphone. In another, a male voice was reported and the victim saw a cellphone taking video. In the third incident, there was a full witness description but no mention of an electronic device.
“It’s tough, because we have nothing else to follow up on,” Hoaas said. “There are no cameras inside the residence halls, so we don’t have much to go off of. We have something, but without the resources, all we have are the police reports.”
Goodwin said these types of incidents have happened in dorms before. In 2014, three voyeurism cases were reported to University Police, and two of these cases took place in dorms — La Plata and Centreville halls — according to police reports.
“For the victim, it’s unnerving to have your privacy violated like that. There’s a certain expectation of privacy in those places,” Hoaas said.
Amelia Loeb, a Cumberland Hall resident, said she was more angry and annoyed than scared when she heard about the incident in her dorm.
“The shock factor has gone down for me,” the sophomore plant sciences major said. “I still shower in the same stall that I always do, but it’s still in the back of my mind.”
The situation in large dorms facilitates this type of behavior, as bathroom doors aren’t locked and anyone can walk in, Goodwin said. She added that the potential of nonresidents tailgating into dorms can negatively affect the safety of the students who live there.
“We encourage students not to let anyone in who they don’t know and to be diligent about knowing who is around you,” she said. “It’s critical for students to take personal responsibility for the safety of themselves and others.”
Loeb said putting preventative measures in place to stop these incidents from occurring would be more trouble than it’s worth.
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“They’re difficult to prevent, especially when the only way would be to put some kind of cameras in the bathrooms or only allow swipe access to use the bathrooms,” she said. “The only thing the university can do is keep up with vigilance.”
Hoaas said University Police has increased patrols around the dorms in response to these incidents, but student awareness is also important to prevent future incidents.
“We don’t know who’s doing this,” she said, “so what we need is help from the community.”
