MORAGA — A smattering of laptop computer thefts in recent weeks at St. Mary's College evolved into a larger problem late last week when 16 college-owned laptops were reported stolen, a campus security official said.

Because of the numbers involved, the latest heist is being investigated as more carefully planned. Most laptops at the campus are stolen partly because of owners' carelessness, said Bill Foley, chief of public safety at St. Mary's.

The 16 Dell laptops were taken sometime between Thursday morning and Saturday evening from a second-floor study room in the St. Albert Hall Library, according to the St. Mary's public safety office. The person who discovered the theft said the door was unlocked, and there were no signs of forced entry, Foley said.

Moraga police are aiding the investigation. Foley said the size of the theft is unusual for the 4,000-student college.

"It's an anomaly," Foley said. "We don't get these types of thefts on a regular basis."

Earlier last week, a laptop and iPod was reported stolen from a dorm room in Aquinas Hall. Two weeks before that, a laptop was cut from a security cable in a dorm room in Becket Hall.

But in both those cases, Foley said "reasonable caution" could have been taken to prevent the thefts. The Aquinas Hall theft occurred after the property was left out in plain sight, and in the other, the thief apparently entered through an unlocked window.

"People need to

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take reasonable safety precautions," Foley said.

Even if a computer is unattended for a short while, it is still susceptible to theft, he said. That includes a quick run out of the office or visiting a neighbor down the dorm hallway.

"You have created the opportunity for someone to take it," Foley said.

Campus safety officials ask that anyone with information contact the college at 925-631-4282 or Moraga police at 925-284-5010.

Reach Robert Salonga at 925-943-8013 or rsalonga@bayareanewsgroup.com.