The latest in a long line of computer thefts at the
University occurred in the journalism building on the
weekend of Sept. 5-7, according to University Police.
Just under $10,000 in computer equipment was
stolen from several rooms in the building, and all the
computers were new Power Macintoshes, according to
University Police.

"We’ve got leads, but the whole case is new and is
being investigated," said University Police Lt. Eric
Gattiker. "We are going to dissect the case and look
into all possibilities."

University Police are investigating who had access
to the building and who knew about the computers
and where they were, Gattiker said.

"We are going to take it one day at a time," Gattiker
said. "We will sift through the information."
Gattiker said although similar types of entry have
been used, it is difficult to determine if the incidents
are related because there are only several ways people
can break into a room.

He added it’s always a possibility the theft might
have been someone with ties to the school who would
have been able to gain entrance into the rooms.

According to police, the burglars rifled through a
desk to find keys, which were then used to open vari-
ous rooms in the building.

Police have no suspects in the case.
University Police Chief Chuck Horton is urging
departments across campus to "secure their areas"
with alarms.

"Locks can be broken," Horton said. "There are
inexpensive ways to install alarms, and it would be in
their best interest to look into it."

Recent computer related incidents include:

According to University Police reports, computer
thefts also occurred on the weekend of July 26-28 with
"substantial" money losses. Doors in the School of
Music and the Institute of Ecology were pried open,
and 13 computers valued at more than $28,000 were
removed, police reports said.

The School of Music was also broken into in May
and four Apple computers worth $12,900 were stolen
from the building’s computer lab, a police report said.
Although the University keeps a record of the seri-
al numbers on all computers, people often steal the
computer microchips, which are untraceable.

On Aug. 29, a computer chip was removed from a
computer in Myers Hall, and a Power Macintosh com-
puter valued at more than $4,000 was stolen from an
office in Park Hall on Aug. 16.
In 1995, Christopher Leftwich, a former University
bus driver, was arrested for stealing more than 100
microchips from computers across campus.