Three computers stolen through broken window

Police are looking for suspects after three laptop computers were stolen from the École Desrochers portable classroom the night of Tuesday, Feb. 3.

A window, more than 7 ft. from the ground, was smashed at the rear of the portable, which is located at the corner of Cedar and Geikie Street and houses classrooms for Grades 7 through 12.

The cost of the computers, which belong to teachers, is unknown, though laptop computers can run anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand.

The laptops are provided to the teachers by the school board (Grande Yellowhead Regional Division), and though data is saved to a central hard drive, replacing them will take time and cause extra stress, said interim principal Sylvain Roy.

Teachers use the devices for tasks such as doing prep work, researching, looking for material online and emailing, Roy said. The teachers have locks to secure their computers to their desks, though three of the four computers in the building at the time were unlocked.

Determining whether some teachers regularly leave their computers unlocked is something that will be looked at, Roy said. The portable also houses student lockers, though they’re asked to take valuables such as iPods and cell phones home with them because the lockers are not secured.

Roy would most like to see this cleared up as fast as possible, he said. “If they could catch the guys who did this, get the computers back for the teachers, if it could just get resolved quickly [would be ideal],” he said.

“As an adult, I wonder why things like this happen.”

This is the first incident of its kind Roy has seen in his two years at the school, and the worst thing for him is realizing there’s someone in Jasper that would steal from a school.

“We’re not immune to that kind of stuff,” he said. “There are people out there willing and desperate enough to do this.”

Looking ahead, the most important thing is to make sure this type of incident doesn’t repeat itself. “We have to go on with what happened and do what’s appropriate to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Roy said.

Anyone with information leading to the apprehension of the person or persons responsible is asked to contact Jasper RCMP at 780-852-4421 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.