There was a lot of stealing last weekend inside Misano’s Media Center. After the theft of photographic equipment worth tens of thousands of euros, the professionals working for the World Championships are obviously worried. They asked promoters and event organizers to improve both prevention systems and safety measures.
Here what happened.
A CHAOTIC EVE – The thefts took place inside the press office on Thursday afternoon. “There were around 10 people, not a huge crowd”, said one of the photographers involved. Two were English professionals, who came back to their posts at 4.45 PM and realized some lens were missing: to be more specific, two 600 millimeters and an optical camera (very big and clearly visible) worth at least 13.000€ each were stolen together with other smaller and less expensive materials. The press office of events such as the World Championships (either the MotoGP or SBK) is always a protected environment, and in Misano there was double the number of private security officers surveilling the entrances. Moreover, to access the press office everyone needs a pass with the date and an “M” (Media) stamp. So it is possible that the thieves had some kind of pass, either a permanent one (valid for all events and released by Dorna) or a one-event pass, released by Dorna but only after a local press office makes a previous selection.
THE INVESTIGATION – The victims called the police and asked to press charges against unknown persons, but the equipment stolen hasn’t been found. When the theft happened, the officers asked all photographers working that weekend to open their lockers, but they weren’t allowed to force them open for privacy reasons. This is certainly weird considering that the lockers belong to the circuit and they are assigned before each event to the professionals who ask for them, only after they pay a security deposit. Both photographers’ equipment was insured, but the damage is considerably serious anyway.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IN THE FUTURE – The professionals working for the World Championships will make an official request to Dorna to have closed-circuit cameras installed on every single circuit, to record people’s movements in the Media Center areas, at the entrances, and in the working spaces. They will also ask each local promoter to have a specific insurance to face possible damages. Moreover, they wish for some written rules that all professionals should be obliged to follow in order to maintain a correct behavior while working within the Media Center.