Burglary at the the Norwegian School of Sports Science

– It looks like burglars have been here both on Saturday and Sunday. First to do reconnaissance, then to make the break-in, says communication manager at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NIH), Karen Christensen in a comment to Universitas.

Several perpetrators

The thieves got away with a safe filled with access- and parking cards. Due to the safe’s size and weight it is believed that there have been more than one culprit. The safe was thrown down a staircase, which has also led to significant damage to the stairs.

The yield from the robbery consisted moreover of at least five mobile phones, four projectors, three voice recorders, two video cameras, one laptop and one wireless headset.

The total value of the stolen goods is unknown.

Broke open steel door

Lise Sofie Woie, executive director of the NIH, said that the perpetrators have gotten in by cutting the lock on a gate in a construction fence. Then they ripped open a wooden door and broke through a steel door.

– We do not know how they got the safe, but there are massive marks on the door, says Woie.

Having come through the steel door the thieves were inside NIH. Here they have gone further into the service centre where the theft took place. The police assume that burglars used the same route as they fled.

– The perpetrators have probably had a car at the rear, says crime scene investigator from Majorstua precinct Asgeir Bjørgum to Universitas.

He was the only policeman at the scene.

Avoided the alarm

Monday night, at 3:43, the alarm went off.

– The alarm that was triggered is just local. It has no direct connection to any security company or the police; it only shows ups in our event log. There are some places at NIH that has systems connected internally and to the security company, but the burglars have managed to avoid these alarms, says Woie.

Vulnerable to burglary

This is not the first time NIH experience burglary.

– There have been some minor burglaries at NIH earlier, but they tend to have happened during the day. The fact that we are a construction site now probably makes us more vulnerable to thefts. It is natural that we are now making a new assessment of the necessity for further measures to ensure the safety together with Statsbygg, which is the owner of the rehabilitation project, says Woie.

The project is expected to be completed in August 2017.

In this instance there is little to do with the brazen theft, except to wait.

– The next thing that happens is that we write a report and a review on behalf of the school. The investigations section of Majorstua will then consider further steps in the investigation, said Bjørgum.

There are currently no suspects in the case.