Cambridge's crime rate is at a 37-year low, but the Cambridge Police Department isn't letting up.

On a recent Friday night, a Crimson reporter accompanied several CPD officers on their beats and discovered a world of motor vehicle accidents, 911 hang-ups, forced entries and bloody fights.

And that was a slow night.

Car 1

My first assignment is Car 1, a squad car which covers East Cambridge. Officers James A. DeFrancesco and Kevin F. Branley and I start the afternoon with a "code 86." (For an abridged version of the CPD Dictionary, please see sidebar.)

We pull up to a new stop sign on Charles Street, and settle down to what I assume will be a considerable wait. After all, who would go through a stop sign directly in front of a highly visible police car?

One minute later, a black Celica zooms by us through the intersection without even slowing down.

"Damn," says Officer Branley, as Officer DeFrancesco accelerates and turns on the siren. We catch the Celica in the next block, and before the officers approach the car, Officer Branley runs a routine license-plate check by the dispatcher back at the station to see if the car is stolen. It is not, and the driver is issued a warning.

"Now we give more warnings because [the sign] is new," Officer DeFrancesco says. "Later on we'll do enforcement. We're not out to get them."

Eight minutes later, we're back at our waiting spot, and in less than 60 seconds a blue Pontiac with four men in it drives by us and through the intersection. The car isn't stolen, but a check on the insurance reveals it has been revoked. The officers come back to the squad car to wait on a Social Security number check on the driver.

"That's a crew full of wise guys right there," says Officer Branley.

The car has to be towed due to the lack of insurance. Despite the fact that the passengers and driver are visibly upset, kicking a nearby fence and slamming the car with their fists, the officers handle the situation with professionalism. They even all shake hands before the four men head to a bar and we drive off.

"I've been involved in arrests with pretty much everyone in that car," Officer DeFrancesco says. "I treat them with respect and they treat me with respect. And sometimes someone with a past criminal arrest will come to the aid of an officer. Sometimes they can be your best informants."

We're now cruising down a sunny back street, and both officers are elaborating on proud family histories of policing.

Before long, the officers spot a local priest, and pull the cruiser over for a chat. When a house-fire backdraft blew Officer DeFrancesco off a porch last year, the father came to visit him in hospital.