If you see a crook, call the cops and get a pizza.
That's what the UT Police Department is trying to encourage with its Hungry For Justice program, which is being expanded because of its success, UTPD Officer Darrell Halstead said.
The two-year-old program awards UT students, faculty and staff who happen to catch a bicycle thief in the act. If their information leads to an arrest, UTPD awards the tipster with a free pizza from any chain around Austin, no matter the price.
"I can't go to Chicago to get a deep dish, and I can't go to New York to get you a slice, but I can get you any pizza in the city of Austin," Halstead said.
Now, UTPD has expanded the program to include the second most pervasive form of theft on campus - laptop theft.
"We're seeing more interest, and not necessarily to get a free pizza, but students, faculty and staff all taking a vested interest in campus safety," Halstead said.
The first recipient of a free pizza for catching a laptop thief will be Joann Moore, a building monitor in the Texas Union who was one of a number of people who helped run down a suspect in a laptop theft on Nov. 28. Moore and several unidentified males were able to catch the alleged thief and hold him until UTPD could respond.
Moore was unable to comment because of staff policy at the Union, but she said she will be getting her pizza soon.
Laptop theft most commonly occurs at engineering buildings, libraries and the Texas Union, Halstead said.
UTPD has given out 12 pizzas so far this semester and gave out about 30 last year, Halstead said. Because of the program, a criminal's actions can end up feeding a number of people. One particular criminal, Halstead says, has led to UTPD giving out seven pizzas in five separate incidents.
"He is a one-man army, and he has fed quite a few people," he said.
The most commonly requested pizza is from Mangia, an Austin-based Chicago-style pizzeria.
"It is a good program. We're pretty much helping people that turn somebody in," said James Ware, general manager of the chain's Guadalupe location. "Mangia has always been involved in the community."
Hungry for Justice won an award with the Central Texas Crime Prevention Association for a new and innovative crime prevention program, and Texas A&M and Kent State universities are both looking into adopting similar programs, Halstead said.
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