Custodial services staff members discovered a group of 10 to 15 homeless people dispersed throughout the third floor of the Lafayette building Jan. 12, an email sent by Police Services to administrators who work in the building stated.The incident, while isolated, has since raised concerns in the community about the rising number of Burlingtons homeless and the Universitys security systems.Burlington should probably make an improvement on running the citys homeless shelters, senior James Bentil said. UVM is not a residence for nonstudents.Lieutenant Larry Magnant said Police Services conducted additional checks after they received the alert, but did not find anyone. After the initial report, UVM Police Services searched the buildings surrounding Lafayette, resulting in nonrelated arrests made outside the Royal Tyler Theatre.If individuals are found trespassing on campus, the standard protocol is to question whether or not they are lost, what their purpose for being there is, and if they have a prior criminal record, Magnant said. We end up encountering people from all walks of life here on campus for legitimate business or, for lack of a better word, wandering, Magnant said. But I wont say this is unusual.The email, sent by Officer Sue Roberts, outlined several solutions to make the building more secure by being less accessible.The solutions included limiting the number of hours the building is unlocked and making it easier for police to request a lock command for any of the CATcarded buildings if an event is cancelled under short notice, the email stated. Faculty and staff are also encouraged to contact Police Services if they encounter anyone unknown in the building after hours, even if the person is not an obvious homeless person, according to the email.According to Valerie Brosseau, executive director of the Burlington Emergency Shelter, the number of homeless people in Burlington and the surrounding areas has been up from previous years, and has led to a shortage of beds at the local shelters.Brosseau said she had not heard of incidents like this taking place before, as some hotels in Burlington will not turn people away because of the severe weather.In the last three years there has been a 24 percent increase in the number of homeless single adults in Burlington, said development director at Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) Becky Holt.If someone needs shelter it is always good to direct them to COTS, Holt said. We also have an open door policy on cold nights so even if the beds are all taken they have a place to sit and be warm.First Year Garrett Garcia said he feels that the University should ensure that buildings are better secured.It doesnt personally affect me that people enter the building after hours, but they should not be trespassing, said Garcia, who has several classes in the building, one of which is on the third floor.Sophomore Sophie Earll said she had mixed feelings over the incident.I dont want to see people living on the street, she said. But having them in our environment is a little disconcerting, especially since weve had a lot of issues recently.This break-in has been the most recent in a series of trespassing incidents in the last three months, including an intrusion into a Angell Hall classroom by a woman wielding a toy gun in November and the unauthorized entry of a man into the Tupper dormitory in January, The Cynic previously reported.