STOLEN KIT

[ferretwrangler]

Hi All,

 

Sorry for posting here, never sure where stolen posts should go!

 

Anyway - Just a heads up that the Blackpool Wintergardens thief is about again.

 

Overnight 24/25 March we had a Sanyo XU8 Projector stolen, more alarming is that said projector was kensington locked to the fabric of the building!

 

Needless to say I expect to find said in Cash converters tomorrow but I ask if that fellow BlueRoomers kindly keep their eyes open.

 

Flightcase, remote, IEC, kensington lock all gone! It is security marked but hey!

 

Meeting police this afternoon for the usual discussions.

 

Should be noted that the Wintergardens has stated they dont have a problem with theft and that they refused to allow access to CCTV and other security systems!

 

Anyone else in there watch out - lots went after an exhibition last week too.

 

I know its only a £1500 projector but it was my £1500 projector - SOB SOB.

 

Thanks all!

[rossmck]

Should be noted that the Wintergardens has stated they dont have a problem with theft and that they refused to allow access to CCTV and other security systems!

 

Is that legal ? Even if they are refusing to give you access to it (which is a little odd) then the police can seize the tapes if necessary. The suspicious part of me thinks that they might know more about it than they should, after all why else would they hide the CCTV from you ?

[bruce]

Of course it's legal.... you (as a 3rd party) have no "right of access" to the cctv tapes. However, I would expect the venue to review the tapes on your behalf.

 

 

 

remember, CCTV contains personal data, and so is covered by data protection act.

 

Their CCTV policy should state exactly how that data is used, but I'd guess that it can normally only be viewed by authorised staff and by police, subject to the appropriate paperwork being completed.

[charlyfarly]

I may be wrong but I think there are "issues" with the Data Protection Act and/or the Freedom of Information Act, hoops that need to be jumped through before the likes of you and me can view CCTV footage (even though it was the theft of your equipment. Maybe that is why they are baulking. The Police can demand the tape though. Let's hope there was actually tape running in it :unsure:

 

Sorry, Bruce beat me to it!

[Sully]

To be blunt Kensington slot type locks are only suitable as a deterrent for "supervised" areas only regardless of what you're securing with them, we certainly don't really consider them as a useful security measure in our environment let only somewhere where the kit's unattended.

 

David.

[slipstream]

Don't forget to set up an email alert for Sanyo projectors on ebay if it goes on a buy it now and sells fast you may miss it, after Cash Converters it's the best option to dipose of, may be worth letting the local CC shop know it's missing

 

Sam

[rossmck]

Sorry I misinterpreted the OP's post to be they werent allowing the police access to their CCTV - which seems a bit questionable but yes as a private individual there are issues.

 

However, in similar situations I have managed to get CCTV given to me. The DPA does provide for a number of people including solicitors, claimants themselves (in civil cases) and accused persons or defendants to view CCTV footage to provide evidence, investigate crime including the identification of witnesses or offenders and generally I've just been lucky (for example there's a commercial building with a CCTV camera that views the entrance to my (residential) street ... after someone collided with my vehicle and fled they handed me the tapes of the incident allowing me to identify the vehicle involved.

 

Everywhere will have their own policies but generally I believe most people are quite co-operative with CCTV evidence although I'm well aware there's no legal right to view it.

[ferretwrangler]

Thanks to all for their helpful responses.

 

The boys in blue have been for a visit and they are currently trying to extract CCTV from the Venue.

 

Im not saying that the CCTV per se is the issue, more that I'm aware that us and many other companies install £100,000's worth of kit in venue such as this and the complete lack of interest/concern from them is not too pleasant!

 

After some judicious ringing round it seems there has been a significant number of thefts from the venue over the past few months. Obviously I understand the venue not wanting to confirm this fact, however I'm disappointed that there is a total and utter lack of concern and or any procedures to deal with it.

 

I'm not happy with the response of "you have insurance dont you? So wheres the problem, its nothing to do with us!"

 

Not good enough

 

With regard to Kensington Locks not being too secure, Im aware of this, but there is little else one can do especially when the building is apparently made fully secure when unnoccupied.

 

Anyway - lets see what happens - the post was more to caution others who may have to enter the premises.

[allsounds]

Wa**ers - we're down in the olympia room! fingers crossed the little bastards dont come back tonight!

 

doesn't appear to be the most secure venue in the world even with showsec on site

 

Hopefully the boys in blue will find something but I think your right its probably in one of the cleaners front rooms...........oh sorry I forgot cleaners don't steal kit - ever (as informed by the head of NEC security)

[matt_beal]

Playing devils advocate, whos responsibility is it really though? Yes it's your equipment, but if they are supposed to fully secure the premises and there's reason to believe they haven't, then surely it very quickly becomes their responsibility and their insurance???

[Pete McCrea]

Having doubly checked with our Insurers, their stance is that if you have left the equipment in the venue whilst you are supplying services to an event, then once you leave the room it is the venues responsibility to adequately secure the room to prevent loss. My understanding is that in this instance the insurers would then lodge a claim against the venue as they have failed to secure the room, so essentially they are at fault.

[peternewman]

With regard to Kensington Locks not being too secure, Im aware of this, but there is little else one can do especially when the building is apparently made fully secure when unnoccupied.

The combination ones may be more secure, obviously they are breakable with patience, but probably not quite as easy to break into as the ones with the cylindrical key. Someone posted a video showing how to break into the latter on here in the past, I was shocked how easy it was, tried it and sure enough it worked. As you say its a deterrant though, it stops someone just picking it up and walking off. I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to cut through the cable if you were determined.

[smalljoshua]

Or to just rip it out from the unit itself. As I've had to prove when unlocking my show laptop from a desk after forgetting the code, most of the lock points aren't that secure.

 

Josh

[pstewart]

The combination ones may be more secure, obviously they are breakable with patience, but probably not quite as easy to break into as the ones with the cylindrical key. Someone posted a video showing how to break into the latter on here in the past, I was shocked how easy it was, tried it and sure enough it worked. As you say its a deterrant though, it stops someone just picking it up and walking off. I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to cut through the cable if you were determined.

 

The combination ones are fairly quick to crack - they're only three digits, and they give you a helping hand along the way (when the combination has got accidentally changed).

The trusty leatherman can make light work of the cable as well (when the lock has got stuck!).

 

Philip (From experience of trying to unlock our stuff).

[Locksmith]

I've used the Targus DEFCON VPCL Video Combination which is a robust 4 digit combination lock which attaches to the VGA port, but uses an extender to attach it so you can still use the socket. To rip it out will wreck the projector or laptop.

I've only stopped using it since I got a new laptop which doesn't have the screw holes on the VGA socket.

 

cheers

 

Dave J