Between September and October last year, Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia, logged 27 reported laptop thefts. But now the university’s next would-be computer thief might be met with an alarm and a greeting from campus security.
That’s because officials have been planting a “bait” laptop, equipped with a contact-activated alarm and monitored by security staff, in common spaces around the university.
Even though the program is new and small (there’s just one bait computer, though more could be added in the future), the results seem to be positive, according to Kiehah Kim, the university’s security supervisor. Mr. Kim says the number of laptop thefts between September and October this year has fallen to 22 (an 18 percent drop).
The alarm-rigged laptop hasn’t caught any burglars in the act, but Mr. Kim says awareness of the program (campus officials have dispersed posters with Big Brother-esque slogans like “We’re Watching”) is enough to scare away potential crooks.
Commenters responding to an announcement about the program’s success on the institution’s Web site, however, were skeptical about the value of the program.
As a commenter named Nick put it: “22 laptops stolen this year compared to 27 last year. How can they claim that the program is statistically significant in deterring theft?”
Other students worried that good Samaritans would grab the bait laptop, intending to bring it to a lost-and-found collection, only to be unfairly punished.
“I picked up a purse left by a fellow student and took it to the lab after class in hopes that she would go there too,” wrote Coreen. “THANKFULLY it was not a ‘bait purse’ and she was so grateful that we did not simply leave it in the classroom.”
Mr. Kim says there is no cause for concern about unwarranted punishments. No one will be reprimanded without an investigation, he says.
“We understand the balance of civil liberties and crime prevention,” he says. “We look at each case individually, and if it’s clear that they were just returning a laptop to the lost and found, they won’t be getting in trouble.”
How exactly security officials can tell whether someone is taking a computer to the lost and found or to a pawn shop is still something of a mystery.
4 Responses to ‘Step Away From the Laptop. You Are Too Close to the Laptop.’
cwinton - December 18, 2009 at 9:21 am
This is really lame – a laptop equipped with a contact alarm and monitored by security staff? Apparently they are totally unaware of (relatively cheap) theft recovery services such as Lojack for Laptops.
judithryan43 - December 18, 2009 at 10:29 am
Weird campus, not wired campus, it seems.
donmac - December 18, 2009 at 11:32 am
The idea is stop the laptop leaving the campus, not to let it go and let Lojack find it.And we do take your word for it that you were only trying to take it to Lost and Found.(Mind you, if you start to run away with it, we might have doubts about your word….)Like our “bait locker” program, it’s not about “catching thieves”. It’s about letting people know that you don’t break risk-free into lockers that aren’t yours, and that if you find an apparently unattended laptop, call Campus Security and let them deal with it.Don MacLachlanDirector, Public Affairs and Media RelationsSimon Fraser University8888 University Drive, Burnaby BC V5A 1S6Phone: 778-782-3929Cell: 604-763-3929E-mail: donmac@sfu.caFax: 778-782-3039
gadget - December 28, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I am one of those crazy people who always return lost objects. I would not walk away from the computer thinking that campus security would show up (at my campus, that could take an hour for a non-emergency). I would also fear that if I did not turn in the laptop right away, I would be responsible for letting someone else steal it.I applaud the school for trying to protect student property. But I would be afraid to do anything for fear of being accused of theft.