VIRGINIA COMPUTER THEFT AT LIBRARY SHAKES COMMUNITY Library Heist Stuns Community - News - Great Falls Connection - Connection Newspapers

Library Heist Stuns Community
Thieves steal $54,000 of computers from the Great Falls Library.
By Aranya Tomseth
December 13, 2006


When Fairfax County built the Great Falls Library in the year 2000, a security system was deemed an unnecessary expense for a building in the community with the lowest crime rate in the county — and up until Dec. 2, 2006, Great Falls Library branch manager Linden Renner would have agreed with the county's decision.
'Before last week, I didn't think that Great Falls had a crime problem,' said Renner. 'I felt very safe.'
According to Fairfax County Police, burglars smashed one of the library's windows, and then pried open an interior door to gain access to the building. Police said that the burglary occurred sometime between 5 p.m. on Saturday Dec. 2, and 10 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 3. The thieves stole $54,000 worth of computer equipment — 27 computers worth $1,500 each, and 27 monitors worth $500 each.'We've had minor incidents here and there — scams, people posing as facilities maintenance — but nothing like this,' said Renner. 'This was major.'
Since the burglars seemed familiar with the layout of the building, and the whereabouts of specific electronic items, police suspect that they were people who were well acquainted with the library.
'As far as the suspects go, obviously they spent a lot of time there, and they obviously had a vehicle,' said Fairfax County Public Information Officer Camille Neville.
Renner said she was stunned to discover that her laptop computer had been stolen out of a community meeting room closet that was marked with nothing more than a generic "storage" sign.
"It didn't say anything like media equipment or media storage, but they went right for it and took everything in it," said Renner.

RENNER ASKED police if she could have done anything to prevent the crime from happening, but Reston District Station Capt. Deborah Burnett said "absolutely not."
"You can never prevent yourself from being burglarized — you can only be prepared," said Burnett. "The county made the decision not to put an alarm system here, so my guess is that it was someone who knew there was no security system."
Local resident Beth Putnam said that citizens need to be made aware of the local crime that occurs, so that they may be vigilant and cautious.
"You never see anything in reference to Great Falls in police reports or the newspapers, and I think that's why everyone feels so safe," said Putnam. "That is why the library felt so safe."
Some residents expressed concern about what information was contained in the computers that were stolen.
"Were our names and addresses and social security numbers in there?" asked local resident Bob Pattavina after hearing about the incident. "I wonder if they were going after that information."
However, Renner has assured community members that no such personal information was stored on any of the computers — not even her own personal laptop.
"What's gone is gone," said Renner. "There was no information of any value in anything they took."
Officer Neville confirmed this as well.
"There was no personal information on those computers — no addresses, no social security numbers," said Neville. "They were computers that were primarily used for research purposes."
All of the stolen equipment has already been replaced, but Renner said that the incident has had a more permanent mark on the morale of both her staff, and that of local residents.
"We're back in business, but at what cost to the community?" said Renner. "A lot of people thought 'this is Great Falls, this doesn't happen here,' and now I've got to work to get my staff to feel that way again."