You have to make it not about the laptop. Make it about what is ON the laptop.
The laptop, insurance can replace. The value of which isn't enough for the police to "waste their time on" - also, get a VP or someone important to make a scene about it. "How can we do business here when the police won't even investigate our stolen laptops with trade secrets/etc on them?"
MAKE it important for them. Talk to all of the detectives that could touch it. Who wouldn't want an easy win for a felony property theft conviction?
"Here's the info - you just need to subpoena the ISP for where this is, and go in. Here, the machine phones home once a week. I'll even move it in our system into a special category so it checks in every 6 hours. (Move it into a seperate AD group where WSUS checks it regularly) You'll know where it is as often as you'd like."
Hand it to them on a silver platter, and they more often than not will take it, if you can find someone who sees it for what it is. An easy win for them.