Computers have brought the Internet into schools, but they've also brought thieves.
School systems are fighting back with a service that can track stolen hardware while building evidence for police.
"We haven't had any big thefts of computers since October when we implemented this," said Walter Woods, spokesman for the DeKalb County School District.
DeKalb was reeling from multiple thefts at Chamblee High School last year. After officials hired Absolute Software from Vancouver, about two dozen computers worth up to $100,000 combined were recovered, Woods said.
The company serves 15 school systems in Georgia. It won't identify all its clients, citing privacy, but acknowledged serving the DeKalb and Fulton County school systems. Absolute Software said it has recovered 187 computers stolen from schools in metro Atlanta.
Fulton schools spokeswoman Susan Hale said the company, which was hired in 2010, recovered 11 laptops this year and 29 last year.
Geoff Glave, a senior product manager at Absolute, said the company installs a program that can transmit the computer's location via the Internet and puts a note on the computer's screen that it belongs to the school system if it's reported missing. The Computrace software also records social network posts, emails and other information on missing computers that can be used in court.
Eventually, police are notified. If they recover the stolen gear, the captured information can help them make a criminal case, Glave said. "Typically, they're happy to do it because we've done all the legwork for them."
His company has recovered computers from a Georgia teacher, an Atlanta school custodian and even a purveyor of gold teeth at Underground Atlanta. Sometimes, hardware travels farther. "It's not uncommon for a computer to be stolen in Atlanta and turn up in Albuquerque," Glave said, adding that his company maintains relationships with police across the country, and even overseas.
Tim McGaughey, a DeKalb parent, said thefts are discouraging for parents who raise money to buy computers. Around 2008, at least $15,000 worth of computers purchased by the Henderson Mill Elementary School PTA were stolen, he said. The value fell below the school system's insurance deductible and DeKalb couldn't afford to replace them.
"It was a total loss," said McGaughey, a member of the school's fund-raising foundation.
He said the tracking and recovery of computers is encouraging, but DeKalb should change its rules so that donor foundations can insure the computers through their own policies.
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