KAPA‘A — Several computers were discovered stolen from Kapa‘a Elementary School after students and administrators returned from winter break. According to the Kaua‘i Police Department, at some time between Dec. 28 and Thursday morning, roughly $20,000 in electronics were stolen
KAPA‘A — Several computers were discovered stolen from Kapa‘a Elementary School after students and administrators returned from winter break.
According to the Kaua‘i Police Department, at some time between Dec. 28 and Thursday morning, roughly $20,000 in electronics were stolen from one of the classrooms. The missing items include 12 white MacBook laptop computers; 20 black Kindles; an InFocus projector; and several video and digital cameras.
Kaua‘i Schools Superintendent Bill Arakaki said this is a very unfortunate crime where the students and teachers will not be able to use the learning technology as a result.
“The people that suffer are the students,” Arakaki said. “The kids are the ones who use them as learning tools.”
The laptops had software that the students used for projects, he said. The Kindles were used to access an online library for reading materials.
Arakaki spoke with Kapa‘a Elementary School Principal Jason Kuloloia, and learned the details of the break-in and theft. He said the two are encouraging the public to inform the police if they happen to see the items in the community.
The items are marked with school decals that identify them for their scholastic purpose and that they belong to Kapa‘a Elementary School. It is not known if the markings can be removed or covered in some way, he said.
There were no reported signs of forced entry in the room. However, the metal cabinets in the room where the items were located appeared to have been pried open.
“This is a police investigation and we can’t speculate,” Arakaki said.
Police are asking for the public’s help in locating the people responsible for stealing the electronics.
“We’re alerting the public of the incident as the suspects are likely to try and sell the items on the street or on the Internet,” stated Assistant Chief Roy Asher of the Investigative Services Bureau. Anyone with information is urged to call Police Dispatch at 241-1711 or CrimeStoppers, 241-1887.
