Vamping It Up
“Frustrated by years of burglary problems in the off-campus student neighborhoods during the holiday break, Ann Arbor Police Department has vamped up its educational efforts urging students to lock their doors,” reports the News, which makes the new campaign sound sexier than it probably is. Sexier than actually providing any statistics about how many student burglary victims had functioning door and window locks provided by their landlords and failed to use them, anyway.
I think the mayor mentioned the banner flown over the football stadium in his class. A terrible waste of money, if you ask me.
posted by Dale on December 22nd, 2005 at 10:16 pmSketchy makes a mental note to check future “Crime Maps” to evaluate the success of this campaign…
posted by Sketchy on December 23rd, 2005 at 1:01 amOne of the kids who got robbed over Thanksgiving said he didn’t lock the windows ’cause there weren’t any locks. Didn’t really think to ask the landlord about it, though. Y’know, the “required by law” locks on the windows. I mean, hell, why would you? You don’t want to be a bother, right?
If you don’t lock your doors and windows, especially when leaving town for an extended period, you don’t get any of my pity.
I did get a flyer earlier this year - don’t remember from whom, but the gist of it was make sure you lock your doors and such. It was not really what I’d define as sexy, but to each his own, I guess.
posted by Jen on December 23rd, 2005 at 9:33 pm“Break-ins have jumped from 706 from Jan. 1 to Dec. 17, 2004, to 809 over the same time frame this year“
…hmmm, I wonder what local changes would precipitate such a significant increase in criminal activity? Were there that many more locked windows and doors from January 1, 2004 to December 17, 2004?
posted by Sketchy on December 24th, 2005 at 1:15 amI think the jump is from people who have just been alerted to the glaring stupidity of the U of M students and are keen to take advantage of it. That said, who wants to run amok? I can rent a UHaul.
posted by Donkey McGrew on December 27th, 2005 at 3:35 pmThe real reason for the increase in these numbers can be directly correlated with: 1) All time record high U of M student numbers, and 2) The incredibly poor ecomy and record lay-offs in the manufacturing sector. Are U of M students getting stupid? No, but they are busier then ever before and locking a window or closing a door, while sensible, prolly just doesn’t factor in to the schedule.
Again, blame the AAPD for not knowing how to do their job. We pay taxes for protection, but what we get is a bunch of testorone infused para-military jerks.
posted by Arborite on December 27th, 2005 at 5:09 pmI don’t understand why the police would have to tell people to lock their doors? “Hmmm I’m leaving to go to class, go home for the holiday, etc. Maybe I should lock my door.” Oh, silly me, I forgot common sense among college students, whom I shudder to call my peers, is non existant these days. It also could be because I live in Ypsi, and if you don’t lock it there, your stuff WILL get stolen.
posted by shelly on December 31st, 2005 at 11:09 amWhat I like most in the article is the use of “vamped up” by the writer … it should be either “ramped up” or “revamped,” but I don’t think you can use the verb “to vamp” with the preposition “up”… and either way, it is really wretchedly informal for a news piece (reminisccent of November 19, when Cohen wrote in the NY Times that the German electorate “fudged.” Lovely…)
I would guess this person went through public schools.
posted by Daniel on January 4th, 2006 at 3:12 pmyou can use the verb ‘to vamp’ with the preposition ‘up’. . . it just doesn’t mean what the author (or editor) thought it meant.
posted by [libcat] on January 7th, 2006 at 10:29 am(and I *did* go through public schools….)
posted by [libcat] on January 7th, 2006 at 10:30 amVamp \Vamp\, v. i. To advance; to travel. [Obs.]
Source: Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Frustrated by years of burglary problems in the off-campus student neighborhoods during the holiday break, Ann Arbor Police Department has advanced its educational efforts urging students to lock their doors,”
posted by Sketchy on January 8th, 2006 at 5:43 am