By Jackie Hong and Angela Hennessy
About $20,000 worth of equipment was stolen from the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) over the summer. The stolen property includes two projectors, a laptop belonging to the Ryerson women’s hockey team and personal belongings from various changerooms.
Toronto police media officer Wendy Drummond told The Eyeopener that a suspected breakand enter at the MAC was reported to police on Monday, August 19, when staff noticed that technical equipment had been stolen. Police believe the thefts occurred between Aug. 16 and Aug. 18.
An administrative staff member who works at the MAC and did not wish to be named said that the projectors, which were ceilingmounted, were stolen from two separate meeting rooms: the Blue & Gold Room and The Bunker.
The women’s hockey team laptop, which was used for editing game footage, was stolen out of a cabinet in the coaches’ office space.
A Ryerson coach who did not want to be identified said that the cabinet is usually locked. The door to the office space is also locked after business hours.
“None of the door handles were broken, none of the windows were broken, so the person [who stole the laptop] probably had a key. That’s what [security] told us,” the coach said.
Ryerson has since bought the women’s hockey team a new laptop.
Drummond said the case is still under investigation and that no arrests have been made.
Earlier in the summer, on July 2, Toronto police received a call about a theft from a MAC change room. An arrest was made on July 4. The suspect was charged with theft, assault of an officer while resisting arrest and possession. Other sources told The Eyeopener that the thefts over the summer were not the first to happen at the MAC.
“I know last year there was a problem with cell phones and iPods being stolen out of player dressing rooms,” a Ryerson employee who wished to remain anonymous said. “If I remember correctly last season towards the end we were told not to leave anything in the dressing rooms of value due to the thefts.”
Ryerson installed security cameras in the MAC’s hallways after the thefts. As well, some of the meeting rooms and office spaces now require both a key and qualified OneCard to unlock them, whereas before, only one of those methods was needed. The administrative assistant, coach and employee all said that nothing else has been reported stolen since August.
Ryerson’s manager of security and emergency services Tanya Fermin-Poppleton said that students and staffs should still feel safe in the MAC.
“There is no reason to believe that the athletes and coaches can’t leave their belongings in their offices or changes rooms due to safety concerns,” she wrote in an email.
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