GEORGIA THIEVES TARGET SCHOOL COMPUTERS http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/0527gwxlaptop.html

Thieves target schools' laptopsOther electronics also taken in 20 break-ins
By LAURA DIAMONDThe Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 05/27/06

Thieves have broken into portable classrooms at 20 Gwinnett County public schools over the past month and stolen 50 laptop computers and other electronic equipment, school officials said Friday.

Gwinnett school police officers are investigating the break-ins, district spokeswoman Sloan Roach said. The information has been shared with Gwinnett County police and other police agencies, Roach said.

"This is a greater-than-usual number of break-ins in a short amount of time," Roach said. "It goes without saying that the loss of any public school property is a great concern. We are actively investigating this matter and hope to apprehend and prosecute the offenders to the greatest extent of the law."

In addition to the computers, thieves also stole 16 graphing calculators, 15 printers, six projectors, three computer scanners, one digital camera and five other pieces of equipment, Roach said. There also was some property damage, she said.

The hardest-hit school was Pharr Elementary, Roach said, with 17 laptop computers stolen Wednesday night.

Other Gwinnett schools broken into over the past month are: Berkmar High, Bethesda Elementary, Britt Elementary, Camp Creek Elementary, Cedar Hill Elementary, Centerville Elementary, Creekland Middle, Dacula High, Duncan Creek Elementary, Hooper Renwick, Hull Middle, Jackson Elementary, Kanoheda Elementary, Mason Elementary, Mountain Park Elementary, Osborne Middle, Richards Middle, Simonton Elementary and Winn Holt Elementary.

Roach said the methods of entry were not the same at every school. While it is possible students may have been involved in some cases, Roach said, other break-ins appeared too sophisticated to have been done by children.

This isn't the first time a large number of computers were stolen from Gwinnett's schools.

After a series of break-ins in 2004, Roach said school police made four arrests and recovered about 40 stolen laptop computers, projectors and other electronic devices