TEXAS COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM LOCAL UNIVERSITIES News 8 Austin | 24 Hour Local News | LOCAL NEWS | University offices targets of computer theftUniversity offices targets of computer theft
4/6/2004 4:10 PM
By: Amy Bowlin

Police at a number of local universities are busy trying to solve the same crime -- a string of computer thefts on at least three different campuses.

Some picky thieves have picked clean some university offices.

"All the items stolen from us were Dell. They passed by the white-box computers and went for the black," St. Edward's University Police Chief Ron Willis said.

In the last month there have been break-ins at The University of Texas, Texas State University and St. Edward's University. Someone is stealing computer monitors and towers.

"In my mind, there's a group of individuals [who] have gotten together and targeted universities for computer thefts," Willis said.

Police are using the same items thieves are after to update leads on the cases.

"I got on the computer and I notified all the universities from Georgetown to San Antonio to let them know we'd been hit and to let them know to watch out," Willis said.

St. Edward's police said what surprises them most is the boldness of the break-ins. The thief or thieves broke into the same building the police department is in at TxSt. They broke into the registrar's office at UT, which is right in the middle of campus. And at St. Edward's, they broke into a central building, with a class going on right below.

At least two dozen items were stolen from the three campuses including laptops, monitors and computer towers.

"They're not stealing from students, they're stealing from the universities themselves," Willis said.

Police said someone may have used a crowbar and screwdriver to break in. While students and their things aren't at risk, police want to crack these cases so they don't slow down any more campus offices