Cambridge Police Alert Agassiz Neighborhood of Early Morning Housebreak

The Cambridge Police Department is notifying residents of a housebreak that occurred at a Wendell Street apartment building earlier this morning.

Today at approximately 12:50 a.m., a Wendell Street resident reported that a thin, approximately 5’7” white male with curly blonde hair in his late teens/early 20s and wearing all black, broke into the victim’s second story apartment via the fire escape. The resident’s window was cracked open and the suspect opened the window and reached inside the apartment to attempt to grab a DVD player off of the victim’s bureau. The suspect fled down the fire escape after he was confronted by the resident and ran towards Massachusetts Avenue. No items were reported missing at this time.    

Analysis of housebreak activity in Cambridge for the first three quarters of 2014 indicated a 30 percent reduction (71 fewer breaks) than in 2013 and a 41 percent decline below the five-year projected average of 287 housebreaks. The Agassiz neighborhood has experienced two housebreaks in October.

Cambridge Police have directed extra attention to this area, but are encouraging residents to take the following precautions to protect themselves and their belongings from theft:

• ALWAYS lock your doors and windows at your home, particularly if they can be accessed by a fire escape. Install guards on windows that prevent them from being raised more than a few inches.
• NEVER prop open a door or let someone in behind you if you live in an apartment building and don’t know them.
• INSTALL motion sensor lights around your home and out of reach.

Additional tips to help you protect your home from theft can be found at www.CambridgePolice.org/SafetyTips. For more information about crime in Cambridge, please reference the latest edition of BridgeStat located at www.CambridgePolice.org/BridgeStat.

The Cambridge Police Department urges residents to “see something, say something” and immediately report ANY crime, attempted crime or suspicious activity. Everyone in the neighborhood can make their area safer by being more vigilant. If you suspect suspicious activity around your home or in your neighborhood, please report it to the police immediately by calling 617-349-3300 or 9-1-1, if it’s an emergency. 

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The Cambridge Police Department is committed to the enforcement of laws and preservation of order that protect the rights and property of every person within the City of Cambridge. Our mission is to provide the highest quality of police service and to impact crime, and its associated elements, through the utilization of new and proven crime prevention strategies and problem-solving partnerships with our community.  For more information, follow @CambridgePolice on Twitter, or access the department’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CambridgePolice.