Bernie Drobnicki, director of Public Safety, noted that the equipment had been packaged for return to a systems vendor in Texas. According to Public Safety records, the Cine Machine, a high performance video condenser for the analysis of color and video, was left for FedEx in a hallway in the south corridor of the building. At approximately 1 pm, the student who had arranged for the pickup noticed damage to its packaging. He repackaged the item and attached a note about the impending pickup. The package was last seen around 3:15 pm, and was identified as missing at 3:30 pm.

Initially, staff members in the JEC believed FedEx had taken the shipment as planned, but inquiries to FedEx and the systems vendor revealed that the package had not been entered into either company’s tracking system, and had never reached its destination.

Public Safety requests that anyone who saw the movement of this package through the building that day, or saw any suspicious individuals or activities in the building at any time that day, please contact Lieutenant Ruth Vibert at x8527.

Speculation that this theft is part of a greater computer technology crime wave is unsubstantiated, according to Public Safety records. Drobnicki noted that this was the only computer larceny of its magnitude this spring, and that laptop theft had leveled off over the past three years, even while the number of laptops on campus had steadily grown. Public Safety investigators regularly analyze crime reports to attempt to discern any patterns that might occur, but have identified none in recent computer thefts.

When incidents do occur, Lieutenant Vibert stressed the importance of victims providing accurate, immediate information on the circumstances of crimes on campus. Earlier this year, attentive students in Barton Hall interrupted a burglary in progress. They were then able to provide an accurate and immediate identification to Troy Police, leading to the arrest of the suspect. Preventing thefts is “a team effort between the Rensselaer community and the Department of Public Safety,” Vibert explained.

Drobnicki requested that, as a matter of habit, campus community members report any activities that look suspicious on campus. In particular, any movements of computer systems or other equipment should be reported to Public Safety immediately, to ensure that such transfers are legitimate. This is especially important as equipment begins to move to the Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies Center and relocated student services offices in Academy Hall.

It is also important to adhere to strict laptop safety procedures, according to Drobnicki. Most thefts on campus are crimes of opportunity. Therefore, it is essential to always use a security cable, even in ordinarily safe locations, such as the Union and the Library. Beyond that, however, the impact of a theft can be mitigated if the data on the computer is routinely backed up.

The Division of the Chief Information Officer offers the EZ-Snapshot Service, which grants any RCS user 8 GB of free backup storage space. DotCIO also provides client software to automate the backup process. “Not enough people use it. Very few students use it, actually,” according to Chet Osborn, staff systems programmer for DotCIO and part of the team that manages the service. Information about the service is available at http://www.rpi.edu/web/ezsnap/.