• iMacs stolen from the School of MFM after someone gained entry to building through Arts C

  • The episode follows a similar theft of 16 iMacs from the Silverstone building in January of last year

 11 iMac computers have been stolen from the School of Media, Film and Music (MFM) building. The break-in occurred in the late hours of 25 March, in a Media lab on the third floor of the Silverstone building.

At the time of going to print, there is no knowledge of who stole the computers and who gained entry to the lab via Arts C building.

The department has sent out a warning to their students, reminding them to make sure the lab security protocol is followed.

The School of Media, Film and Music sent out a message to their students after the incident saying: “This is a relatively unusual occurrence and we hope you are not worried by it. Security will be stepping up patrols and we expect this will be the end of it.

“However, could you please be very careful and not leave doors unlocked or propped open in the building and not let folk into the building unless they have their own access card. Please also report any suspicious activity immediately to security. “We do come under pressure sometimes not to allow 24 hour access to the building and it would be a great help in keeping the access we have if we can keep the building as secure as possible (there is no suggestion of a change at the moment but we know security sometimes raise concerns about 24 hour access).”

Whether the break in was aided by a lack of sufficient security or not, the Film and Media department have increased their security measures, stepping up the number of security patrols in the area. There is worry in the Media department that the break in will “raise concerns about 24 hour access”. Media student Julia Pollard commented: “security is obviously a very important issue at Sussex, however it would be detrimental to the university to let a small break in affect the convenience of the 24 hour access, especially to those with deadlines coming up.”

A spokesperson for the University of Sussex said: “Following a theft this month, the Head of School and other staff in Media, Film and Music are conducting a security review – but at this point the review does not include the current access times to the Silverstone building.”

Although the head of the School of Film and Media Studies has called the break in “a rare occurrence”, this is the second break in a media lab.

In the January of 2014 a break in resulted in the loss of 16 iMacs from a lab in silver stone, reportedly worth £15,000. I was suspected there was a link between this theft and another similar theft of equipment from an institution in Brighton earlier that January. However currently there is no evidence to indicate a similar link between this latest break in.

Phoebe Day

Categories: News

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