Camera stolen in latest theft

Another theft was reported from the IU School of Music Wednesday, less than two weeks after the theft of a $20,000 violin from a locked practice room at the school.\nFaculty member Paul Elliott reported the disappearance of his $500 Canon digital camera Wednesday.\nElliott, a voice teacher, said he needed the camera for a class, and brought it from his home Monday to leave in his studio overnight. When he came into his office Tuesday morning, he said the camera was missing. Elliott said he waited until Wednesday to file the theft report to verify he didn't leave it at home or somewhere else, but he checked the school's lost and found area and didn't find the camera there.\nThis latest break-in comes after the theft last month of master keys that allow access to music school facilities. The keys open rooms in the Music Annex, Simon Music Library, Merrill Hall and the Musical Arts Center, but the school has yet to change the locks.\nElliott said he told IU Police Department officer Brett Wellman he was sure the camera was stolen from his office. Wellman wrote in the police report access to the studio was made without visible signs of forced entry.\nBut this doesn't mean someone used a key to get in, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger. He said it is still a possibility, though.\nMinger said it is important investigators don't develop tunnel vision in investigations and assume this theft was perpetrated by the same subject responsible for a break-in foiled by a janitor Friday morning.\nBut Minger said people still should be aware of safety concerns in the area after the recent theft reports.\n"People should be conscious their property is never completely safe without their presence," Minger said.\nSchool of Music Dean Gwyn Richards said in a previous IDS article the school is working with IUPD and the IU Risk Management office to address the situation. \nWhen Elliott reported the theft to Richards' office, Elliott said the office seemed sorry about the theft and said they thought the situation was under control and the thefts had died down.\nRichards did not return phone calls Wednesday.\nElliott said he has learned his lesson. This is the first thing taken from him in his 19 years at IU.\n-- Contact staff writer Brandon Morley at bmorley@indiana.edu.