More than 30 computers have been stolen from Westbury schools recently, in a continuing string of burglaries plaguing the district.
The Nassau County Police Department said that this past Sunday, Jan. 18, between the hours of 2:30 and 6:20 a.m., 13 computers were stolen from Powells Lane School. There was a broken window, and the incident is under investigation.
The Old Westbury Police Department is also investigating a burglary at Westbury High School which resulted in the loss of 20 iMacs, valued at approximately $35,000.
According to Detective Edward Kehoe from the Old Westbury Police Department, the occurrence took place overnight between Dec. 28 and 29. The incident was reported to Old Westbury police on Dec. 29 at 11:30 a.m. Kehoe said entry was forced through a window, and the computer monitors and keyboards were stolen from a computer lab classroom in the southwest corridor of the school, that faces Jericho Turnpike.
“This is an active investigation. We’re trying to find suspects and leads. There is no suspect of interest right now,” said Kehoe.
Police are not sure how many people were involved.
Last July, three schools in the Westbury district were broken into four times, resulting in the theft of over 87 MacBook Pros valued at more than $120,000. The string of burglaries prompted school officials to amp up security, and they hired Summit Security Services Inc. to provide a mobile security officer on evenings and weekends, and BOCES to provide around the clock video monitoring services. The BOCES Command Center taps into a school district’s existing camera system. Operators watch several screens in the room, which bring up live feed when an event happens, such as doors opening, people in restricted areas, or fire/panic alarms going off.
The superintendent did not return calls for comment. Board of Education president Dr. Pless Dickerson says the administration is reviewing their security systems.
“This is under investigation and we’re in discussion as to solutions for prevention and apprehension,” said Dickerson.
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