Thieves lifting laptops at California State University, Long Beach may be finding it hard to keep up the crimes, according to University Police.
Due to advancements in tracking technology, laptop thefts within the past school year have dropped, said Lt. Richard Goodwin of the University Police. In the last year alone, all but one laptop reported stolen was returned to its rightful owner, Goodwin said.
“We have had students who have taken a laptop,” Goodwin said. “The belief in this is that it may not be pre-meditated where they go out specifically to find a laptop. It may be, say, a crime of opportunity, where they just see a laptop and they’re like ‘Oh!’ and they lift it.”
Electronic tracking can locate a computer’s signal through the device’s unique Internet Protocol address, Goodwin said.
He also said that often times, students who report lost electronics usually either just forgot about the devices or assumed that someone else was looking out for it.
“Essentially, an item left unattended or unsecured can potentially become of interest to a thief,” Goodwin said. “Anywhere can be a potential [location] for theft.”
The top three areas that pose a risk for electronics theft are libraries, classrooms and cafeterias, but other locations should not necessarily be considered “safe,” Goodwin noted.
“What will happen with the cafeteria area is that students will come in to eat and they leave their belongings outside as they go in, and so they just have the stuff sitting there,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin said that even cars can be danger zones, and that “the bad guys know” when students attempt to hide their valuables by “placing a sweater” over it.
“Laptop victims should be responsible for their laptops,” said Patrick Ly, a senior computer science major at CSULB. “If they go to the restroom, they should take it with them. They should have some sort of responsibility.”
Susan Ransom, a support services supervisor at CSULB, said that University Police are notified when important items such as laptops, tablets, cellphones, wallets and bicycles are found, and that they then attempt to find the original owners.
Items not returned to the owners within three months become eligible to be auctioned off at an annual auction, Ransom said. This year’s auction was held last Thursday, where two laptops and three tablets turned into the school’s Lost and Found were sold off in a live auction, said David Pedersen, student assistant to the property clerk.
According to Goodwin, within the past year, the combined value of the estimated laptop loss totaled more than $10,000.