Police are waiting for new information concerning a safe containing $5,000 that was stolen from a main-floor office in Northrop Auditorium earlier this month.

A Lancer Catering employee noticed the safe was missing when setting up for an event Saturday night. The theft occurred between Jan. 10 and Jan. 24, according to the police report.

Sally Dischinger, operations manager at Northrop, said someone forced open a wooden office door and removed the safe. She estimated that the safe weighed close to 200 pounds.

Dischinger said thefts in Northrop are very rare.

“(We) generally don’t keep money here, so there’s no reason to break in,” she said.

Glenn Baron, president of Lancer Catering, said it’s the first theft in three years, since Lancer began its contract with Northrop Auditorium.

“We have increased security, and an alarm system is being installed,” he said.

University Police Capt. Steve Johnson said officers examined the scene for evidence and are looking for leads from the public.

In other police news:

Seven people were ticketed and fined $517 each earlier this month for using disability parking permits that did not belong to them. Four were University students.

In addition to the fine, police had the cars towed and impounded in a Minneapolis lot. The legitimate permit owners also lose tag privileges for one year, Johnson said.

One of the students cited used a permit that belonged to her mother.

“It’s issued to the car, so I thought I could park here,” she said, according to the police report.

A medical student lied to an officer, saying that his permit belonged to his father who he had come to the hospital to pick up, according to the police report. However, the permit had been reported lost or stolen by its owner in Bloomington at an earlier time.

Centennial Hall is missing a $3,500 computer from its lab, and police have deemed the case inactive pending new evidence.

The Macintosh G4 computer and flat-screen monitor were reported missing Jan. 21, according to the police report.

Minneapolis police pulled over a minivan weaving back and forth in its lane Jan. 1. According to the report, the vehicle swerved toward the curb and nearly hit a parked car.

The driver had an instructional permit. Police ticketed him and towed his minivan to the impound lot.

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