Minn. Crime Study Ends After Theft Of Victim Data

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A University of Minnesota law professor has apologized to violent crime victims and witnesses after a computer with sensitive information of nearly 300 people was stolen from his office.

Criminologist Barry Feld was collecting data from closed case records for a study on interrogation techniques when the laptop, a scanner and external hard drive were taken last February. The research has since been terminated.

Feld notified 119 people whose names, birth dates and addresses were contained in scanned records. They were offered free credit monitoring in case of identity theft. Prosecutors in Hennepin and Ramsey counties had to recreate lists of people affected, accounting for the lapse between the theft and notification. Up-to-date contact information for 175 people couldn't be found.

University police made no arrests in the case.