BU Police: Stop Stealing Each Other’s $900 Canada Goose Jackets

Photo by Nelson Wu on Flickr/Creative Commons

Those ubiquitous, black Canada Goose jackets with the fur-trimmed hood and tricolor circle patch have the been the target of a rash of thefts at Boston University, the school’s police department warned students Wednesday.

BUPD has reported 14 thefts of clothing items since September. The majority of these cases were Canada Goose jackets, which retail for around $900 and resale for up to $1,300.

“A Canada Goose jacket is probably twice as valuable as an iPhone,” BUPD detective lieutenant Peter DiDomenica told BU Today, the school’s news and information site, “but many people who own them aren’t considering them to be valuable property.”

Most of the thefts have occurred in the locker rooms of FitRec, BU’s fitness center. Given that it’s illegal to place surveillance cameras in the there, and that, unlike consumer electronics, Canada Goose jackets don’t have serial numbers, it’s exceedingly difficult for police to track them down.

Because BU uses IDs to control access into FitRec, police believe the thief or thieves are likely either members of the BU community or paying visitors.  BUPD plans to bring criminal charges against one student believed to have stolen a Canada Goose jacket, and an investigation remains ongoing.

“We are trying to get the message out about being careful not to leave your jackets unattended, since they are looked at as desirable by thieves because of their value,” DiDomenica said. “Lock them up instead of hanging them on a coat rack. That’s an immediate solution.”