A slip-up at the Department of Public Safety recently created a lot of excitement over a used IBM Thinkpad.

The laptop computer, which was bought in December by John Patterson, retired material sciences professor, was found to still have files on the hard drive concerning DPS narcotics cases.

Patterson purchased the IBM Thinkpad 300 for $190 at Iowa State’s weekly surplus goods sale, according to an article in The Tribune.

DPS Director Loras Jaeger said the files that were released on the computer were sensitive but not necessarily damaging.

“I have not exactly seen the files,” Jaeger said, “but from what I have heard, they wouldn’t be too damaging to let people see.”

According to The Tribune, the bulk of the files are reports from undercover officers who worked in the parking lots outside the Iowa State Center before concerts.

Most of the reports are from 1996 and involve marijuana charges.

Jaeger said releasing the computer with files still on it was clearly a mistake.

He had no explanation for how the computer made it to the sale without the hard drive being erased first.

“We have a two-boned approach for clearing our computers,” Jaeger said.

“The first is with the department, and secondly, it is with the warehouse.

In this case, somehow both parties broke down,” he said.

However, Jaeger was quick to point out he did not blame the warehouse for the mistake.

“The responsibility lies within the department because its our computer and our files,” he said.

Jaeger also said DPS would be increasing its security measures concerning shipping out computers.

“From now on, there will be more than one person in charge of checking these things,” he said.

“This will not happen again,” Jaeger said.