The Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) is set to announce a major new crime prevention program aimed at combating laptop computer thefts.

Starting March 1, students, faculty and staff can register their notebook computer with HUPD, which will then affix an anti-theft plaque onto the computer's casing. The plaque will help police track stolen laptops, and also serves to lower a stolen laptop's black-market value.

The procedure will cost $10.

HUPD Community Policing Lieutenant William K. Donaldson is spearheading the program, called STOP, for Security Tracking Office Property.

In an interview, Donaldson said that laptop theft is the second most common larceny on campus. Since Jan. 1, 18 computers worth nearly $44,000 have been stolen from Harvard's buildings and grounds.

"It works out to an average $2,450 [per computer]. That's the equivalent of 10 $250 bicycles," Donaldson said.

Nationwide statistics provided by the FBI show that between 6 and 7 percent of stolen computers are returned to their owners.

Harvard has contracted with Stamford, Connecticut-based STOP Inc., whose clients include Raytheon Corp., Ford Motor Co. and General Electric.

STOP will provide HUPD with the anti-theft plaques, which, when cemented to the shells of computers, leave a permanent mark through a chemical indentation process.

The two-by-three-inch plaque contains a metallic bar code and a five-digit registration number.

Donaldson said if thieves try to pry off the plaque, "they'll damage the computer casing."

That, he said, "decreases its resale value."

If a thief succeeds in removing the plaque, the computer will still bear the indelible imprint of the words "stolen property" on its shell.

A toll-free telephone number is printed on the plaque. When police or citizens call the number to report the recovery of a computer, STOP will match the computer's registration number withits proper owner according to company documents.

Donaldson said that thieves who see theanti-theft plaque on the front of laptops willthink twice before committing their crime.

He cites results from a similar program at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).