Subash Viroomal

November 13, 2007

Last Monday, multiple lockers in the basement of the Old Building were broken into, with valuables such as watches and wallets stolen.

LSE Security’s figures place the number of break-ins at ten and the number of reported thefts at six, but The Beaver has obtained photographic evidence suggesting that many more lockers have been broken into and still cannot be securely closed.

The LSE Students’ Union (LSESU) Executive Committee reacted promptly to the news, contacting Andy Farrell, the Director of Finance and Facilities, and Kayt Berry, the LSESU Communications Officer. Berry placed a School-issued warning at the top of the Houghton Street Review, a weekly email sent to all LSE students.

The LSE’s response, led by Head of Security Paul Thornbury, saw a team of security guards sweep the basement of the Old Building for signs of break-ins. The contents of every locker broken into were bagged and stored in Lost Property, a response praised by students who feared that their exposed rucksacks and course texts could have been easily accessible to “more unscrupulous characters”.

However, the incident has set off a storm of protest. Firoz Noordeen, LSESU International Students’ Officer, called the loss of secure lockers in the Old Building a “massive problem for students”, citing the inability of students with gym clothes and heavy books to keep their belongings safely.

Alexander B, a second year Economics undergraduate and a victim of the crime spree, accepted that poster warnings were clear but added  that “the LSE should have told us it was that easy to break into the lockers”. 

Charing Cross Police were called in that evening and  “recommended that these [non-coin-operated] lockers be upgraded”. An LSE security guard went further, claiming that anything placed in a locker is no safer than an item on “a public table”.

An LSE spokesperson has confirmed that “there is no CCTV equipment installed in the locker rooms” and that the lockers’ design means that “they are unlikely to delay a determined thief for long”. The School refused to confirm that the purchase of new and secure lockers would be their response.

On behalf of the LSESU, Berry has called for new lockers, “preferably with some sort of swipe system and CCTV”. In the meantime, “students must remember that we are an open campus – you leave your belongings at your own risk and you must be vigilant!”