Several personal items were stolen after burglars broke into the Guardian’s Student Center offices sometime last weekend, according to UCSD police detective Yolanda Smith.
The burglary occurred between 10:05 p.m. on March 5, when News Editor Vladimir Kogan left the office, and 11:15 a.m. the following morning, when the staff began the paper’s production, according to police reports.
“When I got there [Sunday morning], most of the file cabinets in the photo office were open, and the drawers in my desk were opened as well,” Kogan stated in an e-mail. “We realized that there had been a break-in after we noticed that the cabinets had been gone through in all of the other offices as well.”
There was no evidence of forced entry, according to Smith. Because the front door and windows were still locked in the morning, staff members have speculated that the perpetrators broke into the office using a back door that leads into the office’s unused darkroom.
“On Sunday afternoon, we discovered [the back door] propped slightly open by an apron and the light on in the darkroom,” Kogan stated. “The front door and all of the windows in the office were locked when I left on Saturday night and also on Sunday morning when we got there.”
Because the Guardian did not have a full inventory on hand, staff members still have not identified all of the stolen items. Smith said that currently the only official victim is Kogan, whose laptop was stolen.
In addition, the police have been told that a video camera, flash drive and set of keys are missing from the offices, according to Kogan. The perpetrators also ransacked office cabinets and drawers.
“Mostly personal stuff was taken,” Editor in Chief Clayton Worfolk said. “It looks like anything they took was stuff they could put in their backpacks. Luckily, our main computers weren’t touched. It could’ve been much worse.”
Although the burglars rummaged through papers, it appears that no business files were stolen, Business Manager Noelle Chartier said.
The Guardian had been planning to rekey all doors to inside offices before the break-in. The re-keying is still planned, which will render key sets stolen from the office useless, Kogan stated.
For the time being, staff members will keep their eyes open for persons entering and exiting the office, Worfolk said.
Staff members will also be cautious of leaving valuables in their offices, according to Worfolk.
Leaving on lights may also prevent future thefts, according to police department Cpl. Kristeen L. McCollough. The police department recommends not only locking outer doors but inner offices, which was not done at the paper’s office. Being aware of keys, and changing them at least once a year, is another important step toward security, McCoullough stated in an e-mail.
Break-in incidents are rare for UCSD offices, according to McCollough.
“Thefts occur more often during normal business hours when staff temporarily leave their offices open and someone steals unsecured property from inside,” she stated.
The last burglary at Student Center involved the shared offices of the Hip Hop Club and Repeater magazine on March 4, McCollough said.
Between 10 a.m. and 2:15 p.m., someone entered the outer suite door and physically pushed in the doors of the inner offices to gain access to the rooms.
