UK COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/local/computer_thefts_top_the_school_crime_list_1_2902838

Friday 7 January 2011

Computer thefts top the school crime list

Published on Thu Jan 06 09:43:39 GMT 2011

MORE than £250,000 of items have been stolen from North East schools during the past year.

From phones, iPods and bikes to a JCB and even crates of milk, hundreds of items have been stolen from school buildings and grounds.

According to data obtained from Northumbria and Durham police, during the school year 2009-2010, there were more than 700 thefts reported from school premises across the two force areas.

Northumbria Police reported thefts totalling a value of £220,533.55, while Durham’s total was £33,454.58 – although that did not include all the items stolen, as some estimated values were not supplied.

The most frequently pinched items included technology such as mobile phones, MP3 players and computers, as well as valuables such as bikes, purses and clothing.

But thieves also targeted the school buildings, with thefts of lead flashing, building materials and tools accounting for almost £64,000 of the total losses.

The largest reported individual thefts were from two schools in the Washington and West Sunderland areas, which each lost £15,000 worth of computers.

A Durham police spokesman said: “Schools are particularly vulnerable to the risk of thefts over holiday periods.”

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: “Our local schools continue to be a safe place to attend.”