CAMBRIDGE POLICE DEPARTMENT

1997 Annual Crime Report

A Message from the Commissioner

This is the second Annual Report produced during my tenure as Commissioner of the Cambridge Police Department, and, for the second year, crime in Cambridge has reached its lowest level since we started measuring it over 35 years ago.

Police departments across the country have been criticized for assuming too much credit when crime goes down. We have no illusions of the Cambridge Police as the primary controller of the crime rate. We are simply pleased to be one of many factors that has brought the 1997 index crime total to its remarkable low.

Criminologists attribute the country-wide decrease in crime to the low number of people in the "crime-prone" ages of 15 to 24. Also responsible for the low crime rate is the decline of the "professional" criminal, the disappearance of fencing operations and "chop shops," and the decline of organized crime. Additionally, community groups have taken the initiative, forming Crime Watches and other programs to combat crime. Innovations in private security-especially in commercial areas and housing developments-have also contributed.

For our part, we credit our successful "Park & Walk" program, our problem-oriented outlook, and our new community meetings for some of the decline in the crime rate. Finally, we hope our thorough Annual and Quarterly Crime Reports provide the police and the community the information they need to effectively avoid and prevent crime in Cambridge.

This report, which details crime by category, by neighborhood, and by business district, continues this department's effort of graphically detailing the true nature of past crimes, so that fear can be dispelled and intelligent problem solving approaches can be developed that address these crimes. It is our belief that a well informed public will be better able to work with the Cambridge Police Department in planning for the twenty-first century.

Sincerely yours,

Ronnie Watson

Police Commissioner

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