YALE UNIVERSITY PC THEFT CONCERNSyaledailynews.com - Increased laptop thefts concern policePublished Thursday, February 12, 2004
Increased laptop thefts concern police

BY WILL SULLIVAN
Staff Reporter


University Police have reported an increase in laptop thefts, which are extremely difficult to track, over the last few years. (PHILIP RUCKER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

Luis Castellano, a.k.a. Jose Rivera, 30, of New Haven, was arrested Jan. 22 by University police for stealing a laptop from a Yale dorm room. Upon questioning by detectives, Castellano led them to three more laptops he had stolen -- all from students' rooms.

Castellano's case is only special in that he was caught. Across campus, laptop theft is a rising problem, up 37 percent in 2003 from the previous year. For police, the thefts are frustrating because they are difficult to solve and easy to stop.

"Three quarters of laptop thefts here are preventable," University Police Lt. Michael Patten said. "And 90 percent of the thefts from residences were preventable."

In 2003, 67 laptops were stolen. Of these, 15 were taken from unsecured dorm rooms and 29 were taken from unsecured offices. Only one of the dorm rooms from which a laptop was taken in 2003 was locked, Patten said.

University Deputy Secretary Martha Highsmith attributed the rise largely to an increase in the prevalence of laptops themselves. Patten said the laptop's portability and small size -- the very things that make laptops attractive to students -- make the computers especially appealing to criminals.
Patten said despite the arrest of Castellano, only a handful of laptop thieves are apprehended, and few laptops are ever recovered.

Patten said the thieves police have caught are usually young men who dress like students, so they can move around dorms easily.

"They are opportunists," Patten said. "These people will walk around and look for a room that's open."

After the theft, the criminals usually simply sell the laptops on the street, Patten said. A $2,000 computer is typically sold for as little as $50.

Patten said the easiest way to prevent laptop theft is to lock all dorm rooms and offices. Students with laptops should also buy portable locks to lock the computers when they are in the library or in common areas, said Susan Burhans, a security education coordinator for the University Police