There have been fewer "prowler attacks" in the Radcliffe area so far this fall than there were in any comparable period in the past, Chief John R. King of the Cambridge Police asserted on Wednesday.

King's statement came after he was informed of an announcement in one of the Annex dormitories on Tuesday which warned girls about walking alone at night. It was the second such announcement within a two week period.

There were a few cases, King stated, but they stopped about 12 days ago when a man was picked up on Massachusetts Avenue on "suspicion." After questioning at the station, the offender, a middle age man, dressed like a college student and wearing an Eton cap, confessed to several "exposures." He was identified as a temporary Cambridge resident, unemployed at the time.

The man is currently under psychiatric treatment by the state authorities.