CAMBRIDGE POLICE DEPARTMENT

1996 ANNUAL REPORT

1996 Pattern Review

Identifying and reporting patterns is the core activity of the Cambridge Police Department Crime Analysis Unit. Crime Analysis Unit members carefully review reports taken by officers, in order to detect, as early as possible, any developing crime patterns in the city. Once a pattern is identified, the Crime Analysis Unit makes the officers and detectives aware of it-usually by publishing it in our Daily Crime Bulletin.

A "pattern" describes any two or more crimes that exhibit similar characteristics such as location, time of day, day of week, weapon used, suspect description, victim type, property taken, and so on. A pattern may suggest that a single suspect or group of suspects is committing a number of crimes, or it may simply indicate a general trend. For instance, if we receive three reports of robberies with a knife in a particular part of the city, all involving three young males with long coats, this is a "pattern," because it seems fairly certain that the same suspects committed all three robberies. On the other hand, if a new shopping center opens in the city, and we immediately start receiving reports of auto thefts from the shopping center's parking lot, this is also a "pattern," even though more than one person may be committing the thefts. Identification of a pattern may result in increased patrol, priority investigation, public notification, or more than one of these.

The following is a recapitulation of the major patterns identified in Cambridge from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1996. The date given usually represents the final date of the pattern.

Monday, January 1: A tight pattern of residential burglaries emerged in Riverside and Mid-Cambridge over the weekend. All of them were daytime occurrences. Most of them involved rather ungraceful entries and, in all but one, no items of any real value were taken. A Cambridge resident was arrested after tenants of an apartment building on Ware Street heard him break the glass on the front door; two days later, a homeless man was arrested for a similar break on Putnam Avenue. These arrests ended the pattern.

Wednesday, January 17: Between Friday and Wednesday, burglaries exploded in Cambridge, with 25 incidents reported in the space of five days. Patterns included four commercial burglaries in the 2200–2300 block of Massachusetts Avenue, in which a suspect put super glue in the front doors of several establishments; five residential burglaries in Cambridgeport, in which a particularly violent suspect ransacked apartments; and two residential burglaries on Lexington Avenue in West Cambridge.

Monday, January 22: Larcenies from Persons, a crime that usually waits unit Spring and Summer to emerge in force, broke out heavily in the Harvard Square area over the previous weekend, with a total of six incidents, committed both in the square itself and in local coffee shops. All victims were female, and the incidents were concentrated between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. A Black male between 25 and 30 was described in one of the incidents.

Tuesday, February 13: The last of a pattern of snowblower thefts in the Peabody and Agassiz neighborhoods. From January 12 to February 13, five snowblowers were taken from porches, garages, and sheds in the early evening hours on weekends.

Thursday, February 15: Between January 9 and February 15, a disturbing pattern of street robberies emerged in the Agassiz neighborhood and spilled into Mid-Cambridge. (The Agassiz and Mid-Cambridge robberies may have been two separate patterns, although suspect descriptions and circumstances remained the same.) The robberies involved two or more mixed-race males approaching their victims unarmed or with a knife. The victims were all walking down streets or alleys between 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. No suspects were identified or arrested, though investigators suspected teenagers from Somerville. The pattern ended abruptly after February 15.

Friday, February 16: Several larceny from motor vehicle patterns occurred during the previous week. The first was on Saturday night, and involved three incidents in Mid-Cambridge-two at the intersection of Broadway and Highland Street, and one on Antrim Street. The unseen suspect struck overnight and forced door locks. The second pattern hit the Fresh Pond Mall parking lots on Sunday. The perpetrator broke side windows and took purses and pocketbooks. Finally, a series of late night/early morning larcenies plagued the M.I.T. area. This suspect entered by prying door locks.

Tuesday, February 20: In an rampage of wanton malicious destruction, a group of unseen suspects slashed the tires of 17 automobiles in the northwestern part of East Cambridge between 1:00 and 1:30 in the morning. On some vehicles, only one tire was slashed; others had four punctured. On at least one vehicle, the rear window was broken. The overall pattern broke down into four geographic clusters. Competing gangs of vandals may have been responsible.

Thursday, February 22: The first of the "Water Department" scams occurred. Cambridge, Somerville, and other surrounding towns report several of these per year. In the typical scenario, two men in their 30s or 40s come to the house of an elderly resident, claiming to be employees of the Water Department. They tell the resident that he or she is due a refund on his or her water bill and find some excuse to enter the house. Then, while one man distracts the resident, the other steals valuables from the house. In this incident, the resident sensibly shut the door in their faces.

Four larcenies from persons were reported in Harvard Square restaurants. All stolen items were purses or wallets taken while unwatched. A White male in his mid-20s was described at two locations.

Monday, February 26: An analysis of auto theft in recent weeks revealed that Jeeps were being taken at abnormally high levels. Nothing other than the make of the stolen vehicles connected the incidents, however.

Friday, March 15: An analysis of larcenies from buildings showed an usually high rate (21 since January 1) around Kendall Square. A laptop computer theft pattern was the most cogent one in the neighborhood; they were concentrated in a relatively tight area bordered by Cambridge Parkway, Main Street, Third Street, and Charles Street. Thieves targeted area businesses during the business day-primarily during the lunch hour. No arrests were made.

Friday, March 22: A pattern of larcenies from motor vehicles emerged in Mid-Cambridge through February and March. The majority of them occurred between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. on weekends. Most of the entries were made by prying open the car doors. Car radios were the theft object of choice. Suspects were described in two incidents, but no arrests were made.

Tuesday, April 9: During the prior three weeks, the city was hit hard with 33 housebreaks, concentrated in Area 4 and Mid-Cambridge. The perpetrators most frequently entered by forcing open front and rear doors. VCRs, CDs, and jewelry were the theft targets. Two suspects were described, but no arrests were made.

Wednesday, July 10: Over the prior two weeks, there were 15 bicycles stolen in and around the Harvard Square area. The thefts occurred predominantly on Thursdays between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and on Sundays between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. The targets of choice were Giant and Cannondale models.

Friday, August 2: Seventeen Commercial burglaries hit upper Massachusetts Avenue in North Cambridge, Peabody, and Agassiz during the month of July. The unseen suspect forced or smashed the windows on the businesses' front doors. In several of the burglaries, the perpetrators smashed open the cash register. Most of them were committed in the early morning hours, between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Cambridge detectives suspected two notorious North Cambridge juveniles who had been seen out and about in the early morning hours, but no arrests were made. The pattern ended abruptly after a final burglary on August 1.

Tuesday, October 8: During the month of September and early October, East Cambridge, Area 4, and Mid-Cambridge were all hit with two dozen larcenies from motor vehicles. Stereos, cellular telephones, and roof racks were the favorite targets. The arrest of two teenagers from Malden on September 9 failed to curtail the pattern, but the capture of two Somerville teenagers at Prospect & Hampshire street on October 7 ended it.

Monday, December 2: During the prior month and a half, there were twelve predatory street robberies in Riverside and Cambridgeport, in the area bordered by Brookline Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and Putnam Avenue. A pair of Black males between 25 and 30 were described in several of the incidents; they brandished a knife. The target time was between 11:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. Several of the robberies were probably unrelated to the others.

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