Ten computers were stolen from the World Languages computer lab on Wednesday, Feb. 15. It was the third incident of larceny in the past two years.

When the theft occurred, the building was open for various adult education classes. According to Assistant Headmaster Hal Mason, a custodian making his rounds on the second floor about an hour after the theft found that the door handle to one of the Opportunity for Change classrooms was broken. This classroom was the room from which laptops were stolen last year.

Several custodians then went around the building, looking for other damages, and noticed the glass of the computer lab shattered. They then called the police, according to Mason, who estimated the damages at around $10,000 for 10 Apple iMac computers.

Officer Deborah Hatzieleftheriadis of the Brookline Police Department came in to investigate the following morning. She said that the thieves strategically selected the computers they stole in order to make the crime difficult to notice.

“The computers that you can look at through the small window were all intact,” said Hatzieleftheriadis. “They took the computers to the right and to the left, so when somebody was walking by, they may not have noticed that the computers were missing. When we went in, the whole row of computers on the left were gone, and a few more on the second row.”

World Languages Curriculum Coordinator Agnés Albèrola said that the thieves may have rolled out the computers in large recycling bins, unnoticed. She added that the police took fingerprints and closed off the scene.

Mason believes that this year’s and last year’s incidents may be related.

“We don’t know if it is the same person, but it is exactly the same way the person entered the room last year,” said Mason. “There seems to be the same pattern, so I do think there is a relationship.”

Both Mason and Albèrola stated that the school will take security measures by replacing some glass-windowed doors with solid doors. In addition, metal screens may be added to the glass windows to prevent thieves from breaking in easily, and the school may introduce stronger security cables to lock the computers.

As a temporary fix, a plank of wood has been placed over the window.

Albèrola said that she would like to have temporary security cameras placed at the entrances and exits of the computer labs. According to Albèrola, if the school were to implement a permanent camera system, the School Committee would need to vote on a proposal.

In addition to the extra security measures, Albèrola wants to insure the computers. However, she added that it would be costly, making it an unlikely course of action.

Albèrola attributes the increasing number of larcenies to the advancement in technology.

“The more convenient equipment is, often times, the more portable and easy it is to steal,” she said.

According to Hatzieleftheriadis, the incident is still under investigation by Brookline police detectives.

Joon Lee and Amy Park can be contacted at [email protected].