A move by libraries in Portland, Ore., to disarm their alarm systems allowed one man to steal hundreds of CDs and DVDs from one branch. Binh Huu Hoang, 19, was arrested by police after he confessed to stealing numerous CDs and DVDs from the Midland branch of the Multnomah County Library.
According to The Oregonian,Hoang told the arresting officer he realized the alarm system had been disarmed after he had accidentally walked out of the library with a DVD without triggering an alarm.
Penny Hummel, public relations manager for the library, told The Oregonian that some of the branches had their systems disengaged because they were not operating properly. “In some places, we had them,” Hummel said, “and they weren’t working anyway, and it did create some issues for staff.”
