INDIANA COMPUTER STOLEN FROM UNIVERSITYThe Ball State Daily News - Recent burglaries could lead to increased patrolsApril 08, 2004


The burglary of a Department of Art computer last weekend, along with the rise in data projector burglaries this year, might spark an increase in the patrol of academic buildings around campus, university police said.

According to police reports, a Macintosh computer estimated at $3,500 was stolen between 4 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Monday from Art and Journalism Building Room 309. There was no indication of forced entry, the report said.

"That indicates either the door was open or a key was used," Assistant Chief Bob Fey said.

Fey said all university police officers and supervisors are assigned specific campus buildings to check during their day and night shifts. Before last weekend's burglary, the most recent burglaries on campus included those of data projectors stolen from the Cooper Life Science and Teachers College buildings in January, he said.

"When we have this kind of theft, the information is shared with the officers of the different shifts, and depending on time and availability there may be increased patrol in those areas," Fey said. "Certainly we make every effort to respond to these."

Art Department Chairman David Jackson said the department has asked police to step up patrols in the building, and is also making sure faculty and students are responsible for locking classrooms.

"We know that the room was locked Friday evening," Jackson said. "It's still being investigated how (the computer) was taken over the weekend."

The investigative process will include interviewing people in the departmental area, getting a list of people who might have had access to the room and talking to them about any suspicions they have, and checking pawn shops, Fey said.

Jackson said the Department of Art currently does not have the funds to replace the G4-model Macintosh computer and is investigating what can be done to replace it. The absence of the computer in room 309, a student lab, is a major loss, he said.

"It's just another burden and affects tuition in a sense," Jackson said. "Especially when there's a theft, there are resources that have to go to those things that normally would not."

Jackson and Fey said they hope the investigation and police patrols will help prevent future burglary attempts.

"We're hoping that the patrols the officers are conducting through these facilities are making an impact," Fey said.