Bon Voyage laptop, wallet, and purse...

We've been experiencing a rash of thefts in the library lately, and that's one thing that really gets my goat. Wallets have been taken out of jackets, purses have been grabbed and computers have been carefully removed from the bags of sleeping students. The worst of the problem is that the thieves have a clear target: foreign students. The perps know that most foreign students come from wealthy families, and I guess they feel a little less scummy taking from the rich. More likely, they know the shit will be worth more. It's so sad, because most of the time I have an Asian student who can barely speak English standing at the desk trying to tell me that his computer was taken out of his bag, or attempting to explain how her wallet was taken when she happened to look away for half a second. Welcome to Toronto!

The security guard told me yesterday that they caught a guy recently who had been grabbing laptops. Someone caught him red-handed, and he was turned in. Unfortunately, these thieves are really good at what they do, and our patrons are a little too trusting in leaving their stuff alone, so it's really hard to catch the bums. A wallet is easily concealed by a thief, so he can get a few before retiring for the evening. Just last week a man ran through the exit, sending the sensors ringing, and a woman chased him shortly afterwards having just had her purse stolen. It's so frustrating, but there's nothing any of us can do about it. We certainly can't chase them, hell, we're lucky if we get a vague idea of what the bastards look like. They probably make return trips without anyone ever knowing, even if they've once drawn attention to themselves. Very sad, really.

The other part about pick-pocketing in the library that I really hate is that I start to size people up, and unfairly. Perfectly innocent people walk by, and I wonder if they're guilty of taking our patrons' stuff. I don't like sending off such negative vibes to people who don't deserve it, yet I'd like to catch the jerks who are stealing from our patrons. It's a difficult situation, and it looks like things will only get worse, especially now, only a month and a half before Christmas. Some people are such creeps. Blech!

One of my co-workers had a good idea about theft prevention. She suggested we walk around with flyers that say something like, "your stuff could have been stolen in the time it took to put this piece of paper on it. Be more vigilant!". We could put an image of a bullseye target in the middle of the page, to really send the message home. I think it would work, and would be fun for us to do to help clueless patrons out. We gotta do somethin'!

Next, please.