CMA 2016 #179 · Agenda item attachment · Jun 20 2016

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO 125 SIXTH STREET, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02142 TELEPHONE [phone removed] WEB www.cambridgepolice.org FACEBOOK facebook.com/CambridgePolice TWITTER twitter.com/CambridgePolice Richard C. Rossi City Manager Christopher J. Burke Police Commissioner To: Richard C. Rossi, City Manager From: Christopher J. Burke, Police Commissioner Date: Tuesday, June 14, 2016 Ref.: City Council Order #3, dated April 25, 2016 Dear Sir: The purpose of this response is to address City Council Order #3, dated April 25, 2016 whereby you were requested to confer with the Police Department and Post Master to determine if there is a pattern that residence should be cognizant of and to report back with procedures residents should follow if they feel their mail has been tampered with. At the present time, there are no operational patterns, series or hot spot concentrations involving package thefts in Cambridge. Due to paucity of activity, package thefts were downgraded to low probability on February 2nd, and have remained at that advisory level since that date. Through May 23rd of this year, there have been 58 package thefts and crimes associated with tampering of mail that were reported in Cambridge, the exact same number recorded for this same time period in 2015. There have been 5 reported package thefts in the Port this year, 3 since April 1st and the 5th and last recorded 3 weeks ago on May 2, 2016. In 2015, there were nine of these incidents counted during this same time-frame. There have been three package thefts reported for Inman /Harrington in 2016. The last theft of this type recorded in this area was 10 weeks ago on March 15, 2016. The Post Office has not received any specific reports of mail tampering in Cambridge. They are however experiencing a regional rise in package thefts that is proportionate with the rise in the number of packages being delivered. It is our opinion that this may be one of the crime types that is underreported to the Department or reported well after the theft has been committed which hampers our ability to identify patterns or long-standing trends. Early June 2016 It should be noted, that while limited in scope, there were several package thefts reported by an East Cambridge resident that occurred on three separate dates. Given that there appears to be an on-going activity at a single location during a known time-frame, investigators are coordinating a package theft assignment in this area that will utilize surveillance and decoy packages to address this issue.

Council Order 0-3 dated April 25, 2016 ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO 125 SIXTH STREET, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02142 Review of Larceny of Packages in Cambridge in 2015 There were 289 of these larcenies reported in Cambridge in 2015, a 28% increase over 2014. By far the most prevalent scenario for this crime type in both 2014 and even more so in 2015 involved the theft of packages from the front steps or vestibules of residences, which rose by 42% this year (from 111 incidents in 2014 to 158 in 2015). Although package thefts were up in 2015 when compared with the previous year, no definite spatial or temporal patterns were identified for most of the year. Towards late fall and into the holiday season, incidents became more numerous citywide, with Mid-Cambridge, Cambridgeport, Peabody, and North Cambridge seeing the most activity, particularly on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons. Four people were arrested in two separate package theft incidents this year in May (in Cambridgeport) and in December (in Riverside). Larcenies from residences by neighborhood Neighborhood 2014 2015 Change East Cambridge 30 18 -40% MIT 1 0 -100% Inman/Harrington 14 14 0% Area 4 27 24 -11% Cambridgeport 25 39 56% Mid-Cambridge 40 53 33% Riverside 26 20 -23% Agassiz 4 17 325% Peabody 20 38 90% West Cambridge 11 18 64% North Cambridge 24 40 67% Cambridge Highlands 2 4 100% Strawberry Hill 2 4 100% Total 226 289 28% Back in November, as part of the Police Department door-to-door outreach campaign, officers were out in Cambridgeport to make residents aware of what they can do to protect themselves during the holiday season, particularly related to package thefts. The following tips were offered:  If your employer will allow it, have packages delivered to your office.  If not, have packages delivered to a place where they can be received in person, such as the home of a trusted neighbor who stays home during the day, or a retired relative.  Request the shipper require a signature confirmation or hold your package at their pick-up facility so you can pick it up in person at your convenience.  If purchasing from a large retailer, request that your package be delivered to a local branch of the store so you can pick it up in person at your convenience. If a resident suspects their mail has been tampered with they should contact our non-emergency number at [phone removed] and come in to file a report or they can request a police officer come to their location to take the report.