"It's make it so easy for someone to reach out and grab one," he says.
Items should never be left unattended, McNamara suggests.
"Make it as difficult as possible for a criminal to take your stuff," she says.
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While the thefts concern police--they are one of the few areas where Cambridge crime increased in January--they do not often publicize the crimes heavily.
"We're not going to put a billboard up advertising them," Pasquarello says. "You try not to make people paranoid."
Also, Harvard Square is not alone: similar patterns hit Porter Square and Central Square occasionally, Pasquarello says.
"These things happen in restaurants, regardless of where you are," he says.