Friday, October 23, 1998
UCLA tightens security after equipment thefts
COMPUTERS: Buildings with easy access target of recent crime
influx
By Ann Hawkey
Daily Bruin Contributor
With highly valuable computer equipment filling the hundreds of
offices that line the halls of UCLA, the campus can be a tough
place to protect from thieves.
Each week, the university loses thousands of dollars’ worth of
computer equipment, along with the countless hours worth of
research stored on hard drives, due to campus burglaries.
"There are two problems here," said Kent Small, a professor of
ophthalmology who had his office burglarized last week. "One is the
missing data that can’t be replaced, and the other is that now I
have to go out and buy another $10,000 worth of equipment."
Many burglaries have been concentrated in the Center for Health
Sciences, and often only pieces of computers, such as disk drives
and memory are discovered missing. Laptops are also a common
target.
Although it may take thieves longer to take apart the computer
and remove equipment, the smaller pieces are easier to hide in a
pocket or bag.
Last week, five offices in the buildings near the Center for
Health Sciences were burglarized. Four of these showed no signs of
forced entry.
With 57 entrances into the Center, and workers and visitors
coming and going throughout the day, it is virtually impossible to
secure all the doors.
"Sometimes people may leave doors open accidentally," said Scott
Martin, the director of security for the medical center. "As a
result, people can get into the building."
Once potential thieves enter the building, unlocked doors and
open offices can offer easy access to portable computer items.
The recent series of thefts have not been linked together,
although there may be a pattern forming, said Detective Tony
Dueñas of the university police.
As of yet, police have no suspects.
"A lot of computer thefts are crimes of opportunity," said Nancy
Greenstein, director of community services for UCPD. "It may not
have been pre-planned, but the opportunity was there, so they took
it."
Simple steps, like locking office doors, putting equipment in
locked desks and not leaving valuable property unattended can all
help prevent these thefts, Dueñas said.
UCPD also registers computers in the Stop Plate program, a
system that registers computers in a national database and etches
an identification number onto the body of the computer.
"If you make it too hard for (thieves), they’ll move onto
something easier," Dueñas said.
But even offices that are not easily accessible have been
targets for computer burglaries.
Small’s office (in the Doris Stein Eye Research Institute) was
burglarized when he was out of town on Oct. 14.
After business hours, the office would be difficult to
burglarize without showing signs of forced entry  but during
the day, the thief would simply need to wait for an unlocked door
and an empty hallway, Small said.
"The office is usually locked, which makes me think that it had
to be an inside job," Small said. "Either that, or someone
accidentally left the door open."
Only four people are known to have keys to Small’s office, but
it is possible that more keys exist, because extra keys are not
always collected when an office is vacated.
"This is really a reminder to make sure you always enforce
university policy to get back keys and (identification cards) when
people leave a department," Martin said.
To help deter computer burglary in the Center for Health
Sciences, Medical Center Security has sent out e-mails to advise
employees of the problem, installed new locking mechanisms and
concentrated security in high-target areas.
Medical Center Security also hires Community Service Officers to
help patrol in the evenings.
"This type of crime has a sporadic behavior," Martin said. "It
can get very quiet when we add concentrated patrol in certain areas
that seem to be hot spots."
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