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CAMBRIDGE POLICE DEPARTMENT |
1997 Annual Report Highlights
Important Facts about the 1997 Index Total:
- The 1997 crime index total was the lowest recorded by the city in over 35 years.
- For eight out of the past 10 years, serious crime has declined in Cambridge.
- In 1997, every index crime except murder registered a decrease.
- Over the past 15 years, property crime has steadily decreased
- Since it peaked in 1990, violent crime has dropped sharply.
- The 1997 "crime clock" shows an index crime every two hours, a violent crime every 15 hours, and a property crime every 136 minutes.
- 57 percent of all property crimes occur between the hours of noon and 8:00 p.m.
- 56 percent of all violent crimes occur between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and midnight; 31 percent occur between 8:00 p.m. and midnight.
- Cambridge averaged 4.5 murders per year between 1960 and 1989.
- Since 1990, that number has decreased to 2.4 per year.
- Murders in Cambridge usually fall into three situational types: domestic, drug or gang related, and homeless against homeless.
- Nationally, cities of 100,000 people average 10 murders per year.
- The two murders in 1997 involved a homeless woman killed by an acquaintance and a young man caught in a crossfire during a shooting in Hoyt Field.
Rape:
- Over the past 30 years, Cambridge has averaged 33 rapes per year. In 1997, there were 24 rapes and attempted rapes reported in the city.
- In an average year, the investigative unit clears 70 to 80 percent of all reported rapes. This year, our clearance rate was slightly lower, about 63 percent.
- Of the four to seven stranger to stranger rapes each year, two to four are usually street abductions or "blitz" rapes, one or two are usually home invasions (though none in 1997), and the remainder are "contact" rapes. There were 6 "blitz" rapes and three "contact" rapes in 1997.
- Since 1980, there has only been one stranger-to-stranger "street" rape pattern in Cambridge: the "Rainy Day Rapist" who struck the Fresh Pond area in 1981.
- Both street robbery and commercial robbery are at the lowest levels in over 30 years. The crime fell 22 percent in 1997, with commercial robbery dropping eight percent and street robbery dropping 24 percent.
- Historically, street robbery is heavily concentrated around Central Square (Area 4 and Cambridgeport), but Area 4's street robbery total fell 53 percent in 1997 and Cambridgeport's decreased 45 percent.
- About 45 percent of all street robberies are "predatory robberies" or "muggings," in which one or two offenders approach someone with a weapon or threat of a weapon and demand money.
- From 1970 to 1990, Cambridge averaged 100 commercial robberies per year. Since 1991, that average has plummeted to 33 per year.
- The 1997 burglary total was the lowest in over 30 years, having decreased 25 percent from 1996.
- In 1997, only one neighborhood (Agassiz) reported an increase in residential burglary.
- The neighborhoods historically most afflicted experienced the greatest declines: Mid-Cambridge's burglaries fell 48 percent; Area 4's plummeted 53 percent; Cambridgeport's dropped 19 percent; and North Cambridge had 23 percent fewer residential burglaries.
- A pattern of business breaks along Massachusetts Avenue in North Cambridge dominated the commercial burglary scene.
- For the third straight year, there was no traditional Summer residential burglary pattern.
- The crime of larceny accounts for 60 percent of the total crime index.
- In 1997, the larceny statistic was the lowest since 1979.
- Shoplifting was the only major larceny category to increase this year. Most shoplifting incidents come from the CambridgeSide Galleria and the Harvard Coop.
- Larcenies from buildings have targeted laptop computers, particularly in Kendall Square.
- Larcenies from persons are concentrated around commercial areas, with Harvard Square producing the greatest totals.
- Larcenies from motor vehicles have dropped significantly over the past two years. Over 25 percent of larcenies from motor vehicles involve the theft of cellular telephones.
- Bicycle theft, though decreased slightly, remains a serious problem. Cambridge has one of the highest per capita bicycle theft rates in the country.
- Auto theft continues to decline in Cambridge. This year's number represents the lowest total in 40 years.
- Toyotas and Hondas are stolen more than any other cars. The Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry are the two most targeted models.
- A major pattern was observed in the fall of 1997 covering the lower part of Cambridgeport and the area of MIT near the Hyatt Regency.
- Cambridgeport and East Cambridge reported the highest auto theft totals.
Back to the 1997 Annual Report Index
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