Negligence and Stolen Laptops

As students across the College begin to prepare for midterms and essays this semester, an unfortunately large number must do so without the laptops that have been stolen from their dorms. During one recent weekend alone, 10 laptops, representing thousands of dollars worth of property, were stolen from River Houses and the Yard. This rate greatly outpaces the 90 annual laptop thefts the Harvard University Police Department estimates occur on campus.

Fortunately, common sense measure could prevent most of these thefts. While tightening Harvard’s comparatively relaxed building security might appear to be necessary as a response to increasing burglaries, restrictions on ID card access have drawbacks that outweigh the advantages to tightened security. It may appear strange or superfluous that a Harvard University college student ID can swipe into nearly all residential spaces at the College, but the advantages of this system are many, as it allows for a more unified campus community.

Each residential college at Yale, by contrast, is only accessible by ID card access to its affiliates. This security protocol is more airtight, but the potential benefits must be measured against the inconvenience students would face. Furthermore, this approach may not even resolve the root of the problem: The Yale system would not have done much to combat laptop theft at Harvard, given that much of it is due to propped-open room doors, poorly hidden room keys, or strangers following a student into a building.

While further ID restrictions are not the answer, other steps can help to keep students’ belongings secure. We continue to endorse the Student Life Committee of the Undergraduate Council’s vote to install security cameras in the entryways of residential buildings on campus, and we agreed with the Committee’s proviso that these cameras should only be used to monitor theft and not other student activity. While these proposals have yet to materialize, we encourage students to take advantages of the resources the University already offers to safeguard laptops. HUPD offers its own laptop database system, and the Department also collaborates with Absolute Software for students that subscribe to the LoJack laptop locking and recovery system.