Laptops take 30 seconds to steal (From Oxford Mail)

Laptops take 30 seconds to steal

4:29pm Friday 30th November 2007 in News

Police have urged laptop owners to protect their property - saying a thief can steal a computer within seconds.

Det Sgt John Linsdell of Thames Valley Police demonstrated to the Oxford Mail that it takes just 30 seconds to reach through a small gap in an open window and grab a laptop.

Computer theft in the city doubled between 2004 and 2006 because doors and windows are left unlocked.

Det Sgt Linsdell added: "A gap of just 3cm is sufficient for a computer to be stolen."

Although break-ins have fallen by 37 per cent this year, laptop burglary, mainly in student and multi-occupancy homes, and at weekends, is growing - up from 214 in 2004 to 404 last year.

Three were taken from one house in Divinity Road, East Oxford, on Monday night.