Posted on 05/17/2007 4:02:52 PM PDT by csvset
When a thief began stealing high-end science equipment from Stanford University labs this year, a group of graduate students struck back using tools of their own.
About 5:30 a.m. Sunday, a camera rigged by the students caught a 20-seconds footage of a man breaking into a Stanford physics lab information that is now a part of the campus investigation, said Mike Killian, facilities manager of the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory.
In at least eight break-ins at Stanford physics labs since September, a thief targeted specific scientific electronics equipment, often stealing oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers, Killian said.
"Clearly he knows what he's taking, so he has some kind of scientific background," fourth-year physics graduate student Francisco LePort said Tuesday.
LePort said the footage he and fellow students caught shows a man wearing "what looked like a construction worker's helmet and goggles" prying through a locked gate before tilting up the camera toward the ceiling.
This past weekend the burglar stole 16 or 17 Hansen lab items, worth several hundred thousand dollars, said Killian. He noted that the thief entered by punching a hole through the sheetrock wall and later broke into another lab in the same way.
LePort said the thief seems to target "specifically scientific equipment" including oscilloscopes, signal analyzers, viewers, volt meters and small lasers, while largely ignoring the laptop computers and copper in the lab.
Killian estimates that since September the physics lab has lost at least $400,000 worth of equipment, not counting break-ins at other nearby labs, including the astrophysics and biology buildings.
Stanford police declined to comment on the crimes because the investigation is ongoing.
Killian said he believes the thefts may be "contract burglaries" in which the thief "takes an order from someone who wants a very expensive spectrum analyzer and knows Stanford is the place to get them."
The instruments can be used "for everything," Killian said, "from people who work with electronics down to Mr. Joe Blow doing radio and television repair work on his kitchen table."
Meanwhile, some graduate students say they're uneasy about working late nights in the targeted labs.
"This guy is running around at all times of day and night and some people are on 24-hour shifts. What are we supposed to do if we run into him?" LePort said.
In a letter he sent Monday to Stanford University President John Hennessy, LePort asked for stepped-up security in the labs. "This is supposed to be a place of research," he wrote.
On Tuesday, Stanford University spokeswoman Kate Chesley said the safety of the students and staff is the school's top priority.
"We take these thefts very seriously and the police are conducting an investigation," she said.
My favorite campus of them all...
“Meanwhile, some graduate students say they’re uneasy about working late nights in the targeted labs.”
Hey, kids! Toss one of these in your school backpack and toss worry to the wind: http://www.davesguns.com/serverpics/FirearmsPage/S&W-340-01.jpg
A “high tech” video camera? That is pretty pathetic. If it had been Cal Tech or Cal Poly, the thief would have been found handcuffed to a flagpole with his pants around his ankles! :)
If it had been Cal Tech, the thief would have been handcuffed to the flagpole.
If it had been Cal Poly, the thief would have been DUCT TAPED to the flagpole.
After losing 400K in equipment, I’d expect a better effort.
“This guy is running around at all times of day and night and some people are on 24-hour shifts. What are we supposed to do if we run into him?” LePort said.”
Wimps.
If it's so high tech, how come the guy saw it and pointed it away? I can't believe Stanford physics guys couldn't come up with a camera they could hide. Guess they'll have to have the MIT boys show them how it's done.
For $400k, they could hire a lot of security.
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