By
Kevin Clerici
Arizona Daily Wildcat
A private donor is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for a rash of recent thefts of audio-visual equipment on campus.
In the last six months, six video projectors - valued at $6,700 each - have been stolen, said Ron Landis, equipment services supervisor for the University Teaching Center. Landis added that only two projectors had been swiped in the previous five years.
"People are dependent on these machines," he said. "Teachers base their classes on our projectors and the thefts are crippling these instructors' ability to teach."
The most recent theft was Feb. 5 in the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Building, when a video projector attached to the ceiling, along with a $500 amplifier in a locked cabinet, were taken from Room 338.
"They slice right through the steel cables," Landis said. "These machines are popular and they are portable."
The recent thefts have all occurred during daylight hours - mostly between 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. following the last regularly scheduled class in a given room, said Terri Riffe, director of the University Teaching Center, in an electronic mail message.
"It's a real challenge to prevent these thefts," said Steve Holland, director of Risk Management. "We have taken measures to further secure campus, but we don't want to turn it into Fort Knox."
Other incidents include:
two projectors taken from the Anthropology Building, Room 129 on Jan. 9.
a $500 DVD player and $200 VCR taken from Biochemistry East, Room 100 in early January.
a $300 VCR taken from the Economics Building
two projectors taken from the same room in the Family and Consumer Resources building last semester
Landis said the donor wanted to remain anonymous, but is a "concerned Tucsonan." The university is prohibited from offering a reward or matching the donor's amount.
Landis said increased security measures have been made on how the units are attached to the ceiling. Some rooms also have surveillance equipment, he said.
There are roughly 100 projectors installed on campus, Landis said. The projectors are commonly used for power point presentations and to display Internet pages or other material generated from a laptop computer.
"There is no surplus of these machines," Holland said. "When one is stolen, a new one must be purchased to replace it."
The university is working with UAPD and a private detective on the crime, Landis said.
Riffe said students should be on the lookout for any unauthorized persons carrying equipment marked "UTC Equipment Services."
Anyone with information on the thefts should contact Landis at 218-3003, or university police at 621-UAPD.
