The status of the house breaks in Cambridgeport

Dear Sir:

The purpose of this response is to address City Council Order #6, dated March 21, 2016 regarding the status of the house breaks in Cambridgeport. In response to this order, we will address the identifying patterns, along with the department’s strategic response to this issue.

Overview: Summary: The latest Bridgestat report (March, to be published 4/1/16) indicates that housebreaks across the city are up 34% from 1/1/16 to 3/28/16 when compared to the five year average of the same time frame. There have been 83 housebreaks citywide which is up 89% over this time period in 2015. In Cambridgeport alone, there have been 23 housebreaks from 1/1/16 to 3/28/16. It is important to note that due to the record levels of snow in city during these months in 2015, the opportunity for housebreaks to occur was marginal and likely accounts for the drastic increase from 2015 to 2016.

Number of Incidents/Pattern: When looking into the 23 breaks in Cambridgeport, four of these were attempts in which no entry was gained, one was by an acquaintance in which there is a suspect and one was a domestic incident that resulted in arrest. The remaining 17 breaks over the first three months of the year show some similarities. The majority have been early to late afternoon weekday breaks.

Streets that have experienced more than one break include: Chestnut Street, Brookline Street, Erie Street, and Kelly Road. The point of entry in 14 of the 17 breaks, in which it was documented or known, was split evenly between window entry and door entry. For window entry the majority were unlocked or slightly open and only 2 were via cutting the screen. For door entry, be it front or rear door, force was used in 6 of the 7; in the remaining break the door was unlocked.

It does not appear that any residents were home at the time of these breaks.

Targets: Jewelry and electronics have been the primary targeted items – laptops have been the most stolen objects in this recent series of breaks.

Suspect Arrests: There have been multiple Breaking and Entering-related arrests since early February by the Cambridge Police, including three suspects who were arrested in separate incidents. In each case, the suspects were in the process of breaking and entering into a home. Another suspect, who was arrested for outstanding warrants, has a history of Breaking and Entering, as well as Unarmed Burglary, in Cambridge.

Police Response Strategy:

Utilizing statistical and strategic information provided by the Crime Analysis Unit, the following actions have been taken by the Cambridge Police Department:

Extra patrols have been deployed to current “hot-spot areas” to help prevent any increase in activity. Plain clothes/undercover officers have been assigned to the area as well. A team of detectives has been assigned to focus their efforts on housebreak investigations. CPD is sharing information and partnering with other agencies to address this regional pattern. Cambridge Police have shared information about these breaks with the community in a variety of ways: community meetings, door-to-door outreach campaigns, CPTED analysis, flyer distributions, e-mail notifications, website postings and social media messages.

Our proactive outreach has gained us media coverage from local news channels, which has been extremely beneficial in sustaining attention around this criminal activity, so residents have been more aware and guarded.

Additionally, we also have notified the local universities, specifically so they can help us reach those students or faculty who live in the most targeted neighborhoods – where we have found that many of these breaks occurred as a result of unlocked points of entry. An emphasis has been placed on those residents who share living space with a roommate(s).

The department will continue to apply our resources and dedicate our efforts to ensure the highest safety standards for our residents.

Should you require any additional information, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Robert C. Haas

Police Commissioner